


Twice As Hard

by Stark-N-Barnes (StarSpangledBucky)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Anxiety, Birthday Party, CEO Tony, Costumes, Dancing, Depictions Of Blast Injuries, Explicit Language, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friendship, Hopeful Ending, Insecurity, Lunch Dates, M/M, Mentions of Death, Missing Scene In The 3rd Chapter, Nicknames, Nightmares, Not really a slow burn, One Night Stands, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Doubt, Some Similar Events Like Iron Man In Regards To Tony's Life, Veterans, War, depictions of war, mentions of suicide/suicidal thoughts, therapy dogs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 05:26:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8274487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSpangledBucky/pseuds/Stark-N-Barnes
Summary: After an unplanned one night stand with billionaire and CEO of SI, Tony Stark...Bucky Barnes has a lot on his plate. Struggling as a young veteran in a shared apartment with his two close friends, he thought he’d manage. Though the aftermath of his liaison has left him with impromptu feelings for Tony and a large bout of self doubt. But Tony may be just the man he’s been needing for a long time.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my fic for the Winteriron Bang 2016.
> 
> Big thanks to my artists nikichidon (her headers at the beginning of the chapters) and amibucky for the artworks they made for this.
> 
> I've split the fic into two chapters because the word count was getting ridiculously long to be in one chapter. There was a smut scene planned, however, it was taking up too much of my time, so it was taken out. But, in chapter three, once I have finished that scene it will be posted as the 'missing scene' from the fic. I'm hoping taking it out doesn't affect the flow of the story. 
> 
> Needless to say, I need a break after this. 
> 
> Title is inspired by the song 'Twice As Hard' by Interpol. 
> 
> (Bit of a age change with Tony, he's 34 in this, Bucky still remains his age of 29 like in the MCU).
> 
> I haven't sat through and properly edited this, yet, all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Be aware of the warnings.  
> Warning in this first chapter for Bucky being woken from a nightmare and lashing out.

                                                                  

* * *

Parties were never a big deal for Bucky, only rarely in his college days and ones for his family. But some parties, ones that actually appealed to him, they were an exception. It was Brock who approached him about it during their usual Friday night out at a bar. With it being a costume party, Bucky couldn’t reject the invitation, even if the party was being held by someone he didn’t even know. Brock gave him very little details except for the fact that it was the party of the CEO of Stark Industries, Bucky didn’t know his name, but being a CEO usually meant a big party. Plus, most of the new friends Bucky had made since returning home after being discharged from the army, were going to be there. So over the coming few weeks Bucky, Brock and Jack sat in their cramped shared apartment, planning ideas on what they’d dress up as. 

Now, stepping out of a taxi outside a mansion, in Upper Manhattan, Bucky had his costume all put together...and he felt _great._ They'd thrown several pictures of costume ideas into a hat, fictional characters, real people and some of the typical costumes people wore were a few of their ideas. Bucky pulled out a picture of a sexy nurse, to his friends amusement, but he knew he could work with it. He gave the costume a lot of thought, deciding to add a twist to it to be able to stand out from anyone else. His costume was changed from the typical white and red to black and red, adding an _evil_ theme to it. The short, black dress snuggly hugged his frame, complimented with a hat on his head adorning a red cross, a mask over his mouth and nose, a choker around his neck, black fingerless gloves, fishnet stockings held up by garters and knee high leather boots. Bucky hadn't felt so comfortable than he did in that moment in a _long_ time.

“You sure you're gonna’ be okay without Althea tonight?”

Bucky turned his head to meet Brock’s gaze, smiling softly at him as a sign of reassurance.

“I'll be fine. My therapist said I'm gettin’ better at goin’ out in public without her. Baby steps. And I went to a yoga class this afternoon just to relax my mind.”

“Alright bello, I believe ya’,” Brock replied.

“Can't believe you're still callin’ me that, Rummy,” Bucky chided.

Brock grinned and swung his arm around Bucky’s shoulder.

“Aw c’mon, it was your favourite word.”

The brunette rolled his eyes, jabbing Brock in the ribs as he looked at other guests standing on the front lawn. It was loud, Bucky thought there had to be at least two hundred people there, with mixed costumes and a few duplicates here and there. He hadn’t seen anymore nurses yet, that was a bonus, not that anyone would have come up with a sexy, evil nurse...he hoped. Most of the guests surrounding them were smoking, separated from the party and conversing in their selected groups. Another handful were standing by an open doorway, where a man and a woman dressed as Danny and Sandy from Grease were flicking through guest lists.

“Is the whole city here?” Jack joked.

As they approached the doors, a few heads turned towards the trio, more so at Bucky and Brock, along with several wolf whistles. Of course, there were a few questionable eyebrows and snorts from the odd jerk that seemed to attend a lot of parties.

“Jesus Christ,” Bucky huffed, fidgeting with the hem of his dress.

“What're you coverin’ up for Bucky? Ignore them, you look great,” Brock stated.

Bucky sighed.

“Y’know how I get.”

Jack reached over and gently squeezed Bucky's arm.

“They're jealous that you can have the confidence to come to a party as a sexy, evil nurse.”

“Thanks Jack,” Bucky murmured, squeezing his gloved hand in return.

“You want me to tell those assholes where I'll shove my bat if they mess with you?” Brock offered.

Bucky's laughter was muffled but still loud behind his mask, his shoulder bumping Brock's to shove him playfully.

“No. Don't worry ‘bout it.”

They stopped behind a group of people as the guy dressed as Danny turned to greet them.

“Hey! Welcome to the party my names Eddie, nice costumes! So, I just need your names then you're all set to go in.”

“We should be under the name Rollins,” Jack interjected.

“Hmm,” Eddie hummed, pushing back four pages before running his finger down a list of names. “Okay, Jack Rollins, and we also have Brock Rumlow and Bucky Barnes,” he added.

Jack smiled warmly.

“Yeah, that's us.”

Eddie nodded as he crossed their names out.

“Great! You can go in. The main area for the party is out on the terrace to your left, bathrooms are on the right wing or upstairs. Most of the drinks and food are on the terrace, but if you want quiet time from the noise then the lounge is open for everybody, there's a bar in there so you can get a drink there if you need it. If there's any problems, ask any of the security walking around for some help and they’ll handle it.”

Bucky held his hand out to the younger man, who took it gratefully, the pair of them shaking each other’s hands firmly.

“Thanks pal. You’re doin’ a great job.”

“No problem, I appreciate it,” Eddie chimed, with a broad smile and a light blush on his cheeks.

The brunette winked at Eddie, before following Jack and Brock inside, seeing both of them roll their eyes in unison. He simply held his hands out and shrugged in return at his friends.

“What'd you do to that poor guy? Undress him with your eyes or somethin’?” Brock scoffed.

“No, but I did give him a certain look with my eyes,” Bucky answered, glancing at his friend.

Brock slapped a hand against his own chest.

“Oh. That one always killed me.”

“I've never seen this look,” Jack said.

Bucky repeated ‘the look’ once more, seeing Jack's brow raise a little.

“At least my costume requires robes.”

Their laughter blended in with the music and loud voices in the foyer, as well as all of the ones out on the terrace. Bucky felt more eyes on him, they were more curious and intrigued, compared to the handful outside. He kept himself close to Brock and Jack for the time being, he needed a few minutes just to settle into a new environment. It'd been awhile since he'd been at a packed party, quiet bars, pool and the odd dance at a club was more his scene.

“Been a long time since I was at a costume party.”

“Yeah, well you ain't been to a party unless you've been to a Stark party,” Brock mused.

They walked down a long hallway, with guests scattered everywhere, a few of them clearly highly intoxicated already. Bucky knew they hadn’t shown up on time, maybe fifteen minutes from the apparent time the party started, but that didn't matter much. He wasn't one to judge somebody for being intoxicated so quickly, but it made for a short night and possibly a killer hangover. Some others were merely getting a little touchy feely, however Bucky was a bit of a culprit for that. Being single and all, he liked to let his hair down and if someone showed any interest in him, he'd possibly have an exciting end to his night out.

"These shorts are ridin' up my ass," Brock grunted, shaking his hips to try and shift his shorts from their uncomfortable placement.  
  
“Don’t you usually have somethin’ ridin’ up your ass, or rather _someone,_ every night?” Bucky asked.  
  
Jack snorted loudly, which earned him a hard glare from Brock.  
  
“Very fuckin’ funny, I’ll smack your ass with this bat,” Brock replied.

Bucky wiggled his eyebrows.

“Kinky.”

Brock groaned, swinging his custom made baseball bat over his shoulders to hold onto it.

“Still can't believe I pulled this costume out the hat and that I'm wearin’ it.”

“C’mon, your ass looks damn great in those shorts Rummy,” Bucky commented.

He unceremoniously cracked his hand across Brock's rear in the blue and red shorts, snickering at the half shocked, half unamused look on the older man's face.

“You're a little shit,” he grumbled.

“You never used to complain abou-”

Bucky stopped abruptly upon entering the terrace that was joined to a long stretch of garden space, his eyes nearly bulging out of his skull. The terrace was decorated perfectly with various themes to accommodate to any theme that guests had with their costumes. Movie, TV and music posters lined the wall of the mansion and across well placed banners suspended with pieces of rope, so not to hang too low and be intrusive. Tables were lined across the back wooden fence, littered with food, drinks and a small pile of gifts. Halloween themed assets were also strewn around them such as, spiderwebs, glowing ghosts, gravestones and spooky masks. There was even a fog machine by a stage where a DJ was, with several lights working in sync with the music.

“...wow.”

“Told ya’. No party like a Stark party,” Brock crowed.

Through Bucky's life he'd been to a fair few parties, yet he was certain he'd have to shove the rest to the side and write this one down as the best he'd ever been too. He'd only just arrived but felt like he'd stepped into a safe space where he wasn't going to have any problems being there. He wasn't good with gifts either, but he'd heard from Jack that this ‘Stark’ guy had his birthday last week but organised the party for the following week. Something about being snowed under with work, he was the damn CEO at Stark Industries, Bucky expected nothing less. But Bucky bought him a gift card for a store in Brooklyn that he visited regularly, simply assuming that everybody had an interest for music and would appreciate some spending money for some vinyls or CDs.

“Does he live here?” Bucky asked.

Brock shook his head.

“He's got a place in Midtown Manhattan, sort of a company building, calls it Stark Tower, but he mostly works there too in an office with Stark Industries related things. Lotta’ his employees live in the floors below when they finish work at Stark Industries, which is actually around this area. They pay reasonable rent and buy their groceries, Stark pays for everythin’ else, electricity, internet, parts of their vacations.”

Bucky's heart gave a little bit of a heavier thud than usual.

“That's really sweet…”

“Yeah well, somethin’ happened in his life and I guess it made him a changed man. The media still tries to paint him as some arrogant asshole. But he's far from that,” Brock explained.

“You've talked to him?” Bucky queried, raising an eyebrow.

Brock shrugged lazily.

“The last party he had it was just him going around and saying thank you to everyone for coming. So it was brief.”

Jack pushed his hood down and looked over at Bucky.

“He's always donating money to charities, volunteering and y’know, puttin’ smiles on people's faces.”

He sounded like somebody Bucky would love to meet and get to know. Bucky admired anyone who wanted to spread acts of kindness and help people who were struggling the most. Considering he did volunteering too, when he wasn't at work, it was always a heartwarming moment for Bucky to know there were plenty of others out there doing what he did.

_“Hey hey! Look at you Barnes!”_

Bringing himself out of his wandering thoughts, Bucky looked over at a small table with a couple of chairs chairs near it, seeing Sam and Steve, two other close friends, occupying both of the chairs.

“Hey!”

“What are you supposed to be a nurse or somethin’?” Sam chuckled.

“No. Sexy, evil nurse,” Bucky corrected.

Sam smiled widely and held his hand out.

“Get over here let me see.”

The brunette rolled his eyes, as he took Sam's hand, letting himself be pulled over to sit on his lap.

“Damn, look at you,” Sam whistled, winking at him.

Bucky laughed loudly, putting his arm around his friend’s shoulders, feeling an arm wrap tight around his waist, the other resting on over his knees. He glanced between Steve and Sam, grinning behind his mask while his cheekbones rose, his fingers aimlessly brushing the hair at the nape of same neck.

“Batman and Superman huh?”  

“It was Sam’s idea. Ain't so bad,” Steve responded, taking a swig from his beer.

“You both look good in the costumes actually. They suit you,” Bucky complimented.

Sam scoffed, waving his gloved hand at himself.

“If they're ever lookin’ for a recast for Batman…”

“You'd make a great Batman,” Brock said, popping the lid off a beer he'd grabbed.

Steve nodded at Jack curtly, receiving a nod in return before staring at Brock with a shit eating smirk.

“You got an interesting choice out of the hat this year.”

Brock sighed dramatically, trying to hide a grin.

“Can it Rogers.”

“Pretty sure I saw some guy in a Catwoman suit when we were walking inside,” Bucky added.

“Well we all know who the sexiest one here is,” Sam interjected, lightly slapping Bucky on the thigh.

“Oh c’mon, I’m not,” the brunette groaned.

Steve lazily crossed his arms as he started leaning back in his chair

“I’m feelin’ a little left out here.”

The others obnoxiously cooed at the blonde until Brock sat down on Steve’s right leg, his free arm looping around his neck.

“That better?”

“I guess this makes it better,” the blonde soothed.

Sam looked over at Steve and winked at him slyly.

“Don’t worry baby, I still love you as my Superman.”

“Ugh, get married already,” Bucky groused, jokingly.

“You stole my seat,” Jack griped.

“If anyone’s sittin’ on you Jack, it’ll be me, you’re not sittin’ on me with your heavy weight,” Brock rebuked.

Jack gasped.

“I’m light as a feather!”

Brock barked a laugh.

“Light as a feather when you stop eatin’ donuts at strange hours in the night.”

“I will leave your ass for donuts without lookin’ back,” Jack retorted.

“Ow, that's gotta’ hurt!” Sam exclaimed, their laughter loud and turning a few heads, especially some nearby who looked like they could use an energy kick to get their party spirit going.

Craving food, Bucky's stomach rumbled quietly as he stood up from Sam’s lap and gave his cheek a kiss, with his mask on, causing Sam to laugh more. He grabbed Bucky's hand quickly, kissing it lightly with a cheeky grin.

“I'm Batman.”

Bucky's nose scrunched up when he burst into more fits of laughter, shaking his head at the sudden dip in Sam's voice to sound gravely.

“I'm gonna’ go check out the food.”

“Alright kiddo, we’ll be here if you need us,” Brock offered, drinking a mouthful of beer.

“When have I ever _not_ needed you Rumball?” he teased.

Brock's mouth twitched up at the corner as he lazily raised his beer bottle as an agreement gesture to Bucky.

“Go enjoy yourself and mingle. I think I saw Clint and Nat somewhere, maybe T’Challa too,” Steve uttered.

The brunette left his friends in search of the food table, possibly a drink along the way to help him relax a little more. He was thankful that he'd decided to come out to a party for the night, it'd been a while. Usually Bucky's days were spent at his apartment or at work, along with the fortnightly visit to his therapist. His nights were either curled in bed with a book and music, watching a sports match with Jack and Brock or going to the bar on the corner that was quiet almost every night. Most trips to the store for groceries ended with a panic attack and him having to call Jack to drive there to pick him up. Making it to this party was just another thing Bucky could feel good about.

_“Hello nurse.”_

Standing by a fridge with drinks inside it, Bucky saw the twins, Wanda and Pietro, who he'd met through Steve. Both of them were dressed in clothes with a Victorian or gothic theme and tiny trickles of fake blood trailing down to their chins from one side of their mouths.

“Vampires,” Bucky said.

“Yes, do we look the part?” Wanda asked, passing a beer to Bucky.

“Nailed it,” he hummed, twisting the cap off the bottle.

“You don't do so bad as a nurse,” Pietro taunted.

Bucky frowned at him.

“Please, I look fucking amazin’.”

Pietro flashed him a smile, showing off fangs, and leant back against the fence.

“Okay we can go with that.”

“I'll talk later with you both. Gotta’ go find food before I expire,” Bucky muttered, waving to Wanda and Pietro as he walked away.

Further down from the drinks tables, T’Challa was standing by a pizza oven where a caterer was firing out large sized pizzas with equally large slices being cut by another. Bucky’s stomach growled in protest again, the aroma of jalapenos, cheese and meat hitting his senses to the point where he could almost taste it without taking a bite. He walked up to T’Challa, tugging the long black tail that was sewn onto his costume, making him whirl around rapidly and bump into Bucky.

“Hel-woah, you’ve got claws!” Bucky yelped, holding his beer tight, staring at ten sharp, silver claws on T’Challa’s fingers.

“I cannot be a cat without claws,”  he reasoned.

Bucky pursed his lips.

“True.”

T’Challa smirked.

“Don’t worry, they retract. How are you?”

“Hungry,” Bucky whined.

“You complain too much,” T’Challa murmured.

“I know. But I think I’m gonna’ take a bit of pizza, before I really do die of hunger,” he said, picking up a slice from a freshly laid out pizza and pulling his mask down to hang around his neck.

T’Challa shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Melodramatic.”

Bucky chuckled through a mouthful of pizza.

“You know me too well.”

“I cannot stay long, I have some others to see before I leave,” T’Challa issued.

“You’re not stayin’?” Bucky countered, earning a brief frown from T’Challa.

“I am a busy man Bucky,” he rebutted.

“Well, next time you’re in town and not so busy. We could organize somethin’, Steve, Sam, some others,” the brunette suggested.

His friend responded with a curt nod.

“Perhaps.”

The brunette was left alone again, standing to the side so that he wasn't blocking the way for people to grab food. He moaned quietly at the taste of the pizza, the tasty cheese melting  on his tongue, mixed with the spice of the jalapeños and chunky pieces of meat. Bucky was in heaven when it came to pizza, it was a weakness for him, he could sit and eat a full one right now if he wanted to. Washing it down with a beer seemed to hit the spot as well, the rich taste going well with his pizza.

“Hey, this is great pizza man.”

“Oh, thank you sir,” the man closest to him said, smiling kindly.

“Keep it comin’.” he encouraged.

Over at the opposite side of the terrace, watchful eyes followed Bucky's every move with deep interest. Tony swirled the ice around in his whiskey, before drinking a generous amount of it, feeling it burn on the way down. His best friend Rhodey was too busy talking to Carol and Pepper about their costumes to notice Tony had slipped from the conversation. They were a mixed bunch with costumes, save for Rhodey and Carol, both dressed in seventies disco clothing that sparkled and shimmered. Pepper was dressed in a burlesque outfit, occasionally tickling Tony's nose with her feather boa. Then there was Tony, dressed to the nines as Prince Charming from Cinderella. All of his costume was exactly like it had been in the film, the cream royal jacket, red pants with the gold stripe, a gold belt, black boots and soft, white gloves.

It’d been Pepper that roped him into it in the first place, he did lose a bet after all...but he didn’t mind the costume in the end. He’d seen a few guests dressed as Disney characters during the night, there wasn’t any reason to feel left out. Infact, he was impressed with the amount of effort people put into their costumes, he’d seen several different versions of one character yet thought they all looked amazing. Maybe Tony did live up to his role at being a bit of a Prince Charming, and he was definitely looking at somebody he’d love to turn the charm on for. While he couldn’t see much of Bucky’s appearance from across the room, his blue-grey eyes grabbed Tony’s attention immediately against the charcoal colour around them. Then there was the costume that Tony wished he had the confidence to wear, snug against his frame and just the right length to show of beefy thighs. _Wouldn’t mind those wrapped around my waist_ he thought, before frowning. _God, that’s not right Tony you don’t even know who he is_ he told himself.

“Still got nice thighs…”

“What was that Tony?” Pepper spoke up.

“Huh?” Tony mumbled, averting his gaze from Bucky.

“Who are you looking at?” she giggled.

Tony dismissed the question, turning back to bar to get another whiskey, before deciding on a scotch instead.

“I was thinking about something.”

“It’s the nurse isn’t it?” Rhodey asked.

“No!” Tony shouted, dropping his head into his hand.

Rhodey clucked his tongue and rested his chin on his hand that was propped up on his elbow.

“I bet you he was checkin’ out his thighs.”

“He does have pretty nice thighs, Tony,” Carol commented. “Don’t worry Rhodey, yours are still the best,” she added, leaning in to kiss Rhodey tenderly.

“Well I hope so,” he whispered.

“How did we get from sexy nurse’s thighs to Rhodey’s?” Tony huffed out.

Pepper nudged Tony with her elbow to push him away from the bar, a splash of scotch spilling over the edge of his glass and onto the floor.

“Go talk to him.”

The brunette blinked rapidly, mouth agape like a stunned fish.

“No way. I’m not doing it.”

“Don’t you want to know his name so you don’t have to keep callin’ him ‘sexy nurse’,” Rhodey stated.

“I don’t want to bother him,” Tony sighed, with a roll of his eyes.

Carol smiled softly at Tony.

“He looks like a James to me.”

Tony’s eyes focused back on Bucky, staring intently as the brunette wolfed down another slice of pizza and chugged some beer to wash it down. He could have laughed at that, considering he to ate like an absolute pig, regardless of who was nearby. There wasn’t any reason not to approach him, Tony had clocked him talking to the twins and watched him since then. Besides, he looked lonely standing by himself, eating pizza and drinking with nobody talking to him. Tony was feeling a little hungry, a tiny slice of delicious pizza couldn’t hurt, so long as he didn’t drop anything on his costume.

“I’m going over there.”

“There you go. Put your charm game on man. Remember and be Prince Charming!” Rhodey exclaimed.

“Good luck!” Pepper added, with a hopeful grin.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony chuckled, waving them off halfheartedly.

He smoothed down his sleeves before making his way over to Bucky, keeping himself light on his feet while weaving between guests.

“You can do this.”

The closer he got, the more his heart raced, and the more he had to take deep breaths to steady the fluttering feeling in his chest. His mind was reeling about how he should approach Bucky, without making a fool out of himself. He couldn't decide between trying to make eye contact and throwing him a signature smile, or walking right up to the table and making a casual remark. The latter seemed to be his friend at that time, so Tony kept on walking and apologising for barging between guests who didn't really pay much mind to it.

“Charm him.”

Before he could even process whether he was going to paradise or his inevitable doom, he’d reached the rows of tables, as well as the presence of the man he'd been staring at for longer than he should have. _Play it cool Tony, you're a natura_ l he told himself.

“You look like you were enjoying that pizza a lot.”

_Smooth..._

Bucky tilted his head up at the sound of Tony’s voice, staring back at chocolate brown eyes that held his gaze steady. It didn’t stop there as he allowed his eyes to search over every feature of Tony from his silky brunette hair to his uniquely shaved goatee encasing a wide, seductive smile. Then there was the costume, one that Bucky recognized straight away, considering he’d spent so much time watching Disney movies with Steve. Truth be told, the guy was handsome as hell.

“Uh, yeah it’s really delicious.”

“I could tell. I’m Tony,” the brunette greeted, holding his hand out to Bucky.

“I’m Bucky,” he replied, taking Tony’s hand and shaking it.

One of Tony’s eyebrows seemed to raise slightly, eyes narrowing as if he was on the verge of a full of frown, his mouth falling into a straight line.

“Weird. My friends thought you were a James.”

Bucky drew his bottom lip in with his teeth to hold back a smile that threatened to cross his face.

“My name is James.”

“Oh? Where did you get Bucky from?” Tony questioned, tilting his head to the side.

“Well, my middle name's Buchanan, it was somethin’ I got in high school. There were too many guys called James according to my friends, so somehow they came up with Bucky because of my middle name,” Bucky explained.

Tony’s mouth curved up at the corner.

“My middle name’s Edward. And my first name is actually Anthony.”

Bucky let out a small laugh.

“Tony sounds a little nicer on the tongue.”

He finished the last piece of pizza in his hand, covering his mouth so not to pass off as rude. Bucky didn’t exactly wolf food down like a ravenous animal in the company of others.

“You’re...absolutely gorgeous,” Tony complimented.

“Oh…” Bucky breathed out, looking away shyly with a light blush on his cheeks.

Tony panicked as he straightened his stance, eyes wide with worry.

“Am I making you uncomfortable? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Bucky’s head shook as he put his gaze back on Tony’s, hearing the brunette exhale a breath of relief.

“I just don’t hear compliments often, that’s all.”

“You’re kidding? Are you fucking with me or are you being serious?” Tony quizzed.

“I’m bein’ serious.” Bucky said.

“What?” the brunette scoffed. “That’s-” he paused. “...consider that long gone,” he added.

“You barely know me…” Bucky mused, with a sad smile that quickly disappeared.

The grin he got from Tony almost punched all of the air out his lungs.

“We can change that.”

It was something Bucky should have been used to, but how Tony flirted with him felt so different. Tony gave him all of his attention, his eyes never leaving Bucky’s at every chance he got to admire him. And Bucky was becoming a flustered mess because of it.

“Damn.”

“What is it?” Bucky snickered, seeing the annoyed look on Tony’s face.

“I was going to have some pizza, but I might get these covered in cheese or sauce,” he groused, showing Bucky his white gloves.

Bucky rolled his eyes and leant past Tony, absently brushing his hand on Tony’s arm before grabbing a slice. He peeled a part off, wrapping the melting cheese around it and holding it out to Tony.  
  
“Here.”

Tony opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out at Bucky, making the brunette laugh before a wad of pizza was popped into his mouth, some of the cheese falling onto his lip. Bucky couldn’t stop laughing as he swiped the cheese up into Tony’s mouth for him.

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” the brunette hummed, feeding him another piece.

“Is that someone dressed as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad?”

Turning around to look where Tony’s attention was, he smirked coyly and turned back, stealing a bite from Tony’s slice.

“Yeah, that’s Brock.”

“Oh, is he your boyfriend? Is that why you looked away when I said you were gorgeous? I’m an idiot, I’m really forward.” Tony griped.

“Shh,” Bucky hushed, pressing two metal fingers against Tony’s mouth. “Ex-boyfriend. The guy’s lap he’s sitting on, dressed as Kylo Ren, that’s Jack, his fiance.” he added.

Tony’s mouth fell into an _‘O’_ shape, the realisation hitting him, it should have been fairly obvious.

“Didn’t want to wear the wig?”

Bucky shrugged.

“He had one, but when he put it on he said it was itchy. So myself and Jack just spraypainted the pink and blue on his own hair.”

“Well he’s killing it in the shorts and the jacket. Does he even have the shirt?” Tony inquired.

“Yeah he’s got the _Daddy’s Lil Monster_ shirt. Trust me Brock sees these things as competitions and puts in a lot of effort,” Bucky snorted.

“So how did you end up being a gorgeous nurse?” he chimed.

The brunette preened.

“I’m a sexy, evil nurse, just so you know.”

Tony took a step forward, resting one hand on the table, his face not far off from bumping noses with Bucky.

“Okay, how did you end up being a sexy, evil nurse?”

“If there’s a costume party we put costumes in a hat and take one out. I got a nurse, but I wanted to give it somethin’ different,” Bucky crowed, biting down on his lip.

“Mm, and what were you last year?” Tony hummed.

Bucky darted his tongue out across his bottom lip slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on Tony.

“I was the red power ranger.”

The sudden outburst of laughter from Tony scared one of the caterers, resulting in them dropping half a pizza on the floor. Most of the other half was hanging on the edge of the table for dear life. Tony and Bucky glanced at each other, then peered over the table at the pizza, eyes wide with shock.

“Oops.”

“That was you!” Bucky accused.

“ _You_ made me laugh!” Tony bit back, reaching out to grab Bucky.

“I didn’t know you were gonna’ make the caterer drop a pizza!”

They struggled with each other’s hands like a pair of children, until Bucky managed to lock Tony’s wrists around his hands, his grip gentle but still firm. Tony glared back at him with a fire in his eyes, twisting his wrists and latching onto Bucky’s, pulling the brunette forward until they were chest to chest.

“You _are_ so forward,” the brunette taunted, flicking his eyebrow up in a flirtatious manner.

“Honey, you don’t know the half of it,” Tony breathed,

Bucky foresaw all of this, the flirting, the connection...while he didn’t want to let his guard down too much, Tony was making an impression.

“Maybe you could show me.”

Tony slid his hands down to Bucky’s, lifting them up gently before pressing chaste kisses to his knuckles, smiling when Bucky blushed for the second time.

“I’m supposed to be a prince remember.”

“You never know, princes coulda’ been real naughty,” Bucky rebuked.

“What am I going to do with you?” Tony laughed, guiding Bucky away from the tables.

He stopped by tall plants that hung over the terrace, a few tiny lanterns lined across the stems and around the leaves, his fingers still laced with Bucky’s.

“Sorry, I needed to move away from there so we weren’t blocking the way.”

Bucky squeezed his hand in return.

“That’s okay.”

“Wanted to step away from all the commotion I caused anyway,” Tony murmured, rubbing his hand against his chest.

“Hey,” Bucky soothed. “You alright?” he asked, putting his hand over Tony’s.

“Yeah, fine...I’ve just got a heart problem, chest pains now and again.”

The look on Bucky’s face told a different story as he rested two fingers on Tony’s pulse point.

“Are you sure? I mean your heart rate is pretty steady, but the chest pains...”

“Absolutely. I see a doctor regularly,” Tony assured him.

“Jeez, I only just met you and you start worryin’ me,” Bucky joked.

Tony hung his head with a chortle following after.

“I feel like if I say sorry once more I’ll be a broken record. Would you like a drink?” he offered.

“I’ll take a beer, please,” Bucky crooned.

“Coming right up!” Tony shouted.

While Tony was getting the drinks, Bucky pulled his phone out his pocket when it vibrated in his pocket, swiping his thumb across the screen to unlock it. There were four text messages displayed on his screen, not from one person but from Jack, Sam, Steve _and_ Brock, in that exact order.

“Oh my god.”

He clicked on the messages to read over them quickly, thinking about how he could reply to them.

**Jack**

**7:30pm:**

_I let you go off on your own and you’re flirtin’ with Prince Charming. Behave yourself._

_What a dad_ Bucky thought.

**Sam**

**7:40pm:**

_Oo baby, look at you go. Show him some of the goods._

Bucky snorted.

**Steve**

**7:50pm:**

_Ugh, get married already._

He deserved that one.

**Brock**

**8:00pm:**

_I’ll leave a key outside the apartment for you. He’s good lookin’, by the way._

“Always lookin’ after me.”

“Who is?” Tony interrupted.

“Oh, uh, it was just Brock sending me a text sayin’ he’d leave a key outside our apartment,” Bucky answered.

The brunette raised a questioning eyebrow, handing Bucky his drink.

“You live together?”

Bucky nodded as he took a sip of beer.

“All three of us, long story, not an appropriate time.”

Tony also nodded, in understanding.

“I get it.”

“You’re sweet, most people would keep askin’ me and it’d make me anxious,” Bucky uttered.

“Bucky, you don’t deserve to feel anxious, you deserve to feel comfortable and relaxed,” Tony said.

Music from the DJ’s booth suddenly became louder, the lights dimming by the dance floor where guests had already congregated in pairs or groups for some dancing. Bucky perked up and grinned widely when he heard one of his favourite songs playing.

“I love this song!”

“You like disco!” Tony yelled.

“Hell yeah! You don’t?” Bucky yelled back.

Tony saw Bucky swaying to the beat, feeling himself doing the same, it was a fairly contagious response to good music.

“I’m partial to it sometimes, but I prefer rock!”

Bucky stuck his tongue out a little with a smirk.

“You can’t beat rock n’ roll!”

_“Come on Superman get those hips shakin’ baby!”_

“Oh my god,” Bucky cackled, seeing Steve and Sam appear in front of him.

“Batman and Superman hitting the dancefloor huh?” Tony teased.

“Sam _loves_ dancing, you pretty much can’t reject an invitation to dance with him he’ll persuade you somehow.”

Suddenly, Bucky’s fun was disturbed by three men walking by, with one of them stumbling into Bucky, dropping a toy parrot, as he was dressed up as a pirate. The blonde sneered at Bucky, making the brunette feel discomfort and annoyance.

“Pick it up for me will ya’, might get a look at some booty while I’m at it.”

His hand made contact with Bucky’s rear, the sting immediate and turning Bucky’s face red hot with embarrassment.

“Hey! Back off!” Tony barked.

Bucky chewed on the inside of his cheek, dropping his eyes to the man who still kept staring at him in a way that made his skin crawl. .

“Fine.”

Tony gawked at Bucky as if he was insane, fishing his phone out to call in some security that were in and around the premises. That was until Bucky placed his beer to the side, then bent down to pick the prop up, keeping his back facing Tony. He caught a glimpse of black lace, swallowing down the lump that gathered in his throat, but equally trying not to laugh at the disappointed looks on the men’s faces. Bucky straightened himself up before shoving the parrot forcefully against the blonde’s chest, with his metal arm of all things which might have hurt somewhat.

“Sorry fellas. I’m with someone.”

“Who? This guy?” the blonde laughed, pointing at Tony.

“Damn right he is,” Tony interjected, wrapping his arm loosely around Bucky’s waist. “Do you want to keep going, or are you going to back off before I find security and have you kicked out?” he threatened, squeezing Bucky’s hip as reassurance.

“Whatever man. Have fun with each other.”

“Oh I will pal, I will.” Bucky retorted, patting his hand on Tony’s chest.

He kept an eye on them as they walked away, in case they tried to pull any kind of funny business when both himself and Tony were unaware.

“I should find some security and get them out of here,” the brunette growled.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it-” Bucky started, jerking his head to the right. “...they’ve already been clocked.” he pointed out.

Tony noticed that Brock and Jack had moved from the other side of the terrace and were now approaching the men who were harassing Bucky.

“Good.”

Both of them hadn’t noticed they were both still standing fairly close to each other, Tony’s arm still protectively coiled around Bucky, and Bucky’s hand still placed against Tony’s chest. Bucky decided to step away at that moment.

“Sorry.”

“Hold on, I was enjoying having you this close,” Tony tutted.

He drew Bucky back to him, one hand at the small of his back, the other holding Bucky at the hip. Bucky’s hands landed wherever his body let him, one on Tony’s shoulder, the other against his left side, their faces inches apart. The pair were having a staring contest with each other, breaths brushing against each other’s lips with faint smells of rich beer and strong scotch, chests pressed firmly together. Tony was sure they were leaning in closer and closer each time they blinked, the ultimate urge to kiss Bucky burning inside his bones.

_“Bucky!”_

_Moment ruined_ Tony thought.

“Hey!” Bucky greeted, spinning around to face Brock.

“You okay kiddo? Those assholes didn't hurt you or anythin’?” he interrogated.

Bucky nodded with a small smile, side eyeing at Jack.

“One of ‘em slapped me on the ass, I'm alright. Tony stepped in and helped me, threatened them with security.”

Jack scowled.

“If I'd known that I would have kicked his ass.”

“Really, I'm okay. He's gone and I've handled a lot worse than a slap on the ass,” Bucky protested, grabbing Brock by the arms and shaking him gently. “I'm fine,” he said.

Brock sighed deeply.

“Okay, but if you don't feel fine at anytime, come find me and we’ll take you home.”

“I promise. Prometto,” Bucky soothed.

“Bene,” Brock replied, squeezing Bucky's shoulders in return. “You comin’ to dance?” he added.

Bucky smirked.

“Just gimme a minute and I'll be there.”

His friend let go of his shoulders, thanking Tony with a slight nod, before turning back to Jack.

“C’mon Jackie boy, Bucky will be with us in a minute.”

“Leaving me already huh?” Tony whined, in a joking manner.

“I'm sorry,” Bucky drawled, taking both of Tony's hands in his and holding them to his mouth. “It's just I owe those two a dance at every party we go to and every time one of our favourite dance songs plays,” he muttered.

Tony shook his head and laughed listlessly.

“You know I'm kidding, go and have fun. I'll be right here.”

Bucky squinted at Tony.

“You better be.”

“I swear,” Tony said.

The brunette moved his mask back up over his mouth and nose, watching Tony's eyes widen for a second before he jerked his head to the side.

“My gosh.”

Bucky had a full body laugh going on as he made to leave, Tony's eyes finding their way down to his thighs again, which he appeared to be infatuated with. He suddenly caught Bucky by his wrist, reeling him back in, much to Bucky's surprise, as his lips planted a small peck on Bucky's cheekbone. His head moved to the side, pressing against the side of Bucky's face, breath ghosting against his ear.

“I'll be watching you, gorgeous.”

“You better be,” Bucky drawled, running his hands down Tony’s chest and pressing the mask against Tony’s lips.

“That’s cheating.”

The brunette wiggled his eyebrows at Tony and brushed his fingers on his goatee, his body starting to move to the beat of the music. He slunk back into the crowds that started to form on the dance floor, shaking his hips from side to side as he turned his back to Tony. If he’d seen the look on Tony’s face he’d likely find it entertaining. Tony saw Bucky disappear into a sea of fog, reappearing again in clear view for him. His hips were still moving and swaying rhythmically like snakehips, entrancing Tony again for however many times Bucky had managed to do that in the space of an hour.

Tony reached for the bottle of rum he'd brought out of the fridge, a birthday gift he'd received from Rhodey. He had it stashed in the fridge with a lot of beer to make it less noticeable to anyone who helped themselves to a drink. He'd share it, of course, but not with the two hundred or so guests that were at his party. With Bucky, absolutely, with other close friends, no doubt about it. But more so Bucky, Tony had an inkling that he may be a huge fan of rum as he was of beer, maybe some scotch too. _God, he's unbelievably different and sweet compared to other people you've been attracted to Tony_ he told himself.

_“I need to know who he's watching!”_

_“Clint, it's none of your business, or anyone else's.”_

“Thought I heard some familiar voices,” Tony spoke up.

He looked to his left to see Natasha and Clint approaching him, his smile growing on his face after observing their costumes.

“You actually went as Legolas and Tauriel! Even got the long blonde wig!”

“Wait...you weren't being serious about these costumes!” Clint shouted.

“Babe, you need to learn, this is Tony we’re talking about here,” Natasha added.

Clint frowned at Tony.

“I hate you.”

Tony blew a kiss at Clint.

“Love you too Legolas.”

“So who are you looking at huh?” Clint asked, shuffling up to stand beside Tony and follow Tony's gaze.

“Nobody,” Tony grumbled.

Clint's brow raised.

“Damn. Is this porn.”

Natasha groaned and turned to another bar set up on the terrace, for a drink.

“What the hell Clint? I never want to know what crazy porn you watch,” Tony laughed

“I'm looking at the three guys over there as Harley Quinn, Kylo Ren and a hot, evil nurse sandwiched in the middle. Which one have you got your eyes on?” the brunette interrogated.

Tony sighed.

“The hot, evil nurse in the middle.”

Clint gasped.

“I knew it!”

“What? How?” Tony huffed out.

“Wild guess,” he retorted. “He is pretty hot though,” he added, seeing Tony shake his head and grin.

“He’s also really friendly, and his name is Bucky.”

“Cute,” Natasha interjected, sipping a cocktail throw a short straw. “Great thighs,” she commented.

Tony threw his arms in air before dropping his hands to his face and dragging them down it.

“That’s what I said!”

“Have you been working your charm on him? Does he have a pretty face?” Clint questioned.

“We nearly kissed, at least...I think we were about to, then he went dancing with his friends. It doesn't matter if he's got a pretty face, Clint, he's sweet and we’re hitting it off,” Tony explained.

Natasha smiled and kissed Tony on the cheek, reaching out to grab Clint by the hem of his sleeve.

“He's a catch Tony, have fun and happy belated birthday. Come on Clint.”

The brunette complained about wanting to stay and interrogate Tony more on who this new flame of his was. Yet the statement only made Tony wonder what'd happen between himself and Bucky. They were hitting it off very well, but it'd been a while for Tony to think about anything serious, perhaps Bucky was the same. It shouldn't have bothered Tony that much, they'd only just met, but Bucky was bringing out the side of Tony that loves to flirt and loves to have a fun night together.

Tony vacated back to the chair he'd sat in a moment ago, popping open the first two buttons on his jacket. It was comfortable, for a royal jacket, but it was making him feel slightly warm, he wasn't sure if he'd manage to keep it on for the rest of the night. Which was why Tony wore a button up shirt underneath as a backup. He noticed that Rhodey was looking over at him, raising his beer a little before moving back to talk to one of the security guards. Tony's attention worked its way back to Bucky, eyes scanning up and down him once as he let out a soft hum of interest. The way his hips rocked so fluidly from side to side had Tony thinking that Bucky may be a dancer, or had an interest in dancing.

Bucky appeared to know how his hands, arms and legs had to move with the rest of his body, like he was a natural. Not to say that nobody else there wasn't dancing like it was a natural thing, but Bucky's stood out more. Tony also wanted to know how the hell he managed to dance in a pair of knee high boots. He himself couldn't even walk in a pair of Pepper’s heels when he was dared to wear them for a day. For twenty four hours he was in sheer discomfort, which was why any of the female employees he hired wore whatever shoes made them feel comfortable. _He’s had a lot of practice_ Tony thought, tapping his fingers against his knee to the beat of the music.

_“Ogling my best friend huh?”_

“Oh my god, I knew you'd say something,” Tony groaned, narrowing his eyes at Steve who stopped by his side. “I didn't even know you knew him,” he continued.

Steve pursed his lips as he leant against the fence.

“Friends since we were kids, then we went to different high schools, lost contact for a few years and then we met again. He works with Sam and I now.”

Tony placed his hand over his heart.

“I'll sleep better knowing that story.”

“You're an ass,” Steve snickered, fidgeting with the collar of his costume.

“So you and Sam decided to be Batman and Superman, your costumes look great by the way.”

“Oh yeah, we made them ourselves, it took us that whole month after you invited us to your party,” Steve replied.

“Wow,” Tony whistled. “You two are like an old married couple,” he added.

The blonde rolled his eyes, lightly kicking Tony with the toe of his boot.

“We’re goin’ on a cruise in two months, I'm thinkin’ of askin’ him then.”

Tony grinned behind his hand he had propped up on his arm.

“Really? I want to see pictures. How long has it been? Two? Three years?”

“Four when we go on our cruise,” Steve answered.

“Okay you definitely need to ask him,” the brunette chided, earning him a laugh from Steve.

“Don't suppose you know of a good place to find rings?” he asked.

“Ask Carol. The one Rhodey got for her is perfect, she's had that for three years and it doesn't have a scratch on it.” Tony issued, pointing in the direction where he'd been over an hour ago.

Steve nodded curtly.

“I'll go talk to her now, looks like Bucky's done with dancin’. Look after him, yeah?”

“You got it Cap,” Tony crowed, giving Steve a wink before he left..

He saw Bucky sauntering back over to him after a brief exchange of words with Steve, his hair slightly mussed from dancing wildly. Tony locked his eyes on Bucky's, feeling one corner of his mouth stretching into a content smirk, after all, Bucky had decided to tease him with a lip bite after moving his mask away from his mouth. The brunette's hips rocked from side to side as he danced the short distance to get to Tony, never once missing a step in his boots. Tony's free arm fell over his lap, his throat becoming increasingly dry while he tried to quell the burn in the pit of his stomach.

“That's not fair,” he accused.

“What's not?” Bucky drawled, dropping his hands on his hips.

Tony huffed, popping another button open on his jacket.

“You. Dancing like you were made for it and then shaking your lovely hips at me afterwards.”

Bucky's right eyebrow perked up as he sashayed his hips at a slow pace, grinning wide when Tony frowned at him and muttered under his breath.

“I was havin’ fun.”

Tony's head lolled to the side, his hand placed lazily over his mouth.

“You did, and you're a really good dancer. Amazing, actually,” he complimented.

“Well you're a damn charmer,” the brunette said, reaching for his beer to scull it down.

“Thirsty?” Tony chuckled.

The brunette covered his mouth, letting out a low belch and a hiccup.

“Mm, much. Sorry.”

Tony shrugged.

“Better out than in.”

He watched Bucky's face screw up, loud laughter following while he keeled over with one hand on his knee, his free arm around his middle. Brock walked up behind Bucky, bumping into him on purpose, bringing out a surprised yell from Bucky who righted himself quickly.

“Brock!” he shouted, lightly punching his friend in the bicep when he realised who it was. “Asshole.” he grunted.

Brock tutted.

“First time I've heard you complain about that.”

Bucky flicked the shell of his ear.

“You're the worst.”

“I know,” Brock remarked. "Hey Tony,” he greeted. “Awesome party as usual,” he added.

“Thanks Brock, hi Jack,” Tony replied, peering over Brock's shoulder to see him.

“Hi. Thanks for inviting us.”

“I know that we've talked once, I just counted remember your names, Bucky fixed that for me though. Meeting a lot of people at these parties makes it impossible to recall names. Sorry,” he apologised.

“Don't worry ‘bout it man, I'm sure you'll remember them in no time,” Brock tainted, quirking a knowing eyebrow at Bucky.

“Don't start your shit, babe,” Jack scolded.

“I'm just sayin’!” he wailed.

“Ignore him,” Bucky sighed, with a smile.

Tony snickered softly.

“Believe me I was, I was too busy looking at your gorgeous self.”

A wolf whistle sounded from Brock as he moved his hips in big circles.

“Whoo! Let's get it on. Ah, babe, let's get it on.”

Jack clapped his hand over Brock's mouth with an exasperated, shutting him up immediately while looking at Bucky and Tony apologetically.

“Stop bein’ a pain. C’mon, I'm gonna’ get you a stiff drink.”

“Fine. Takin’ all the fun away from me,” Brock groused.

Finally left to their own devices, Bucky turned back to Tony with a shrug before leaning against the fence.

“He does that a lot.”

Tony shook his head and grinned.

“It's alright. Always good to be an outgoing person.”

He stared up at Bucky who kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the heels of his boots clipping the fence now and again. It looked like he'd worn himself out a little from dancing and could have used somewhere to sit down comfortably.

“Hey, do you want me to get you a chair? Look like you could use it.”

“That's okay, don't wanna’ inconvenience you,” Bucky answered.

Tony laughed and grabbed Bucky's hand.

“You're funny.”

“Sorry, but you don't needa’ go to a lot of trouble for me,” he said.

They gazed at each other for what felt like minutes, but was merely seconds until Tony let go of Bucky's hand. He started popping the rest of the buttons open on his jacket, seeing a flicker of disappointment cross Bucky's face.

“I'd keep it on, but it's starting to bother me now,” he mused, shucking the jacket off to reveal his black button up underneath.

Bucky worried his bottom lip between his teeth, his cheeks going a rosy colour.

“Can you at least keep the gloves on?”

“Sure,” he replied, raising his eyebrow curiously. “Now, if you're not going to accept my offer of another chair. Do you want to sit on my lap?” he asked.

“Wow, at least buy me a drink first, handsome.”

Tony licked his bottom lip with a smirk, patting the top of his thigh.

“I could arrange that at a later date.”

The brunette pushed himself away from the fence, stepping sideways into Tony's outstretched arm then sitting down on his thigh. Tony's arm snaked around him tighter to hold him steady, his other hand hiking Bucky's legs over the other leg and then coming to rest on his thigh. Bucky hummed low in his throat, coiling his metal arm loosely around the back of Tony's neck.

“That's exactly why I asked you to keep the gloves on.”

“Hm? What's that?” the brunette mumbled, putting his eyes back on Bucky's.

“They're really soft on my skin,” he whispered, running his fingers up the brunette's chest to open a button on his shirt.

“I can tell,” Tony purred, tracing the shapes of Bucky's fishnets where his skin was showing.

Bucky's breathing became heavy, as his metal fingers twisted into the tufts of hair closest to the base of Tony's neck, his eyelids dipping down to where he could only see Tony from under his lashes. He found himself leaning in close to Tony again, catching Tony's warm breath against his lips that he was sure we're quivering from the need to be touched. When Tony's thumb brushed over them, they parted for a hitched gasp to pass. It was if Tony knew exactly what places to touch on Bucky to set him off.

“Hey...slow down, your heart's going a mile a minute.”

His ears were ringing so profusely that he could barely make out that Tony was speaking, his vision becoming somewhat hazy in turn. Bucky often became easy stimulated in situations where he was touched on parts of him that were most sensitive, his thighs being one of the culprits. The rapid beating of his heart was heavy enough he could feel it against his chest, his breathing still laboured and deep. It was rare for him when he felt like fire was licking at his skin and giving him a pleasant feeling he hadn’t felt in months.

“Bucky.”

It wasn’t until Tony's fingers pressed into the small of his back that Bucky came back to his senses. His breathing slowed and evened out, like he'd been holding onto his breath for all that time, heartbeat stilling to a normal pace compared to the fast pace he experienced. Bucky's vision started to clear, he found himself functioning again, the sudden wave of stimulation subsiding. He stared back at Tony who stared back with a small smile, yet concern still remained evident in his eyes, too bright and brown for Bucky to handle. It only made him feel guilty for spacing out in front of someone he'd just met.

“Sorry.”

“I thought I'd lost you for a second. Are you okay?” Tony soothed, rubbing his hands up and down Bucky's back slowly.

Bucky visibly relaxed into Tony, tucking his thumbs under the collar of his shirt, his other fingers spread out idly on his upper back. He lowered his head and tucked it against the side of Tony's neck, letting his lips skim over bare skin, holding back a grin when Tony's breath hitched and his hold grew tighter on him.

“I'm pretty sensitive to touch, in some places, more than others.”

“Ah, I see,” Tony breathed.

“This is embarrassin’, I can leave if you want me to,” Bucky mumbled.

Tony frowned and moved his head to look down at Bucky who had his head on his shoulder now.

“Why would I want you to do that?”

The brunette shrugged sheepishly.

“I'm used to people runnin’ the other way if I get like this. I ain't gonna’ think they're a jerk or anythin’. It just happens,” he replied.

Tony's head fell back as he let out a loud, full belly laugh, resting one hand on his stomach.

“You think I'd hightail it out of here because you're flirting with me and feeling good about it? Jesus, you're adorable you know. There's something you need to remember, gorgeous-” he paused, tilting Bucky's chin up with his index finger and middle finger. “...I was the one that came over to you, and I'm flirting right back. Don't worry about it. I'm enjoying it,” he added.

Bucky smiled so wide it could have made an extremely stubborn person smile back.

“I guess I'll stay then.”

He caught himself in another staring contest with Tony, allowing his eyes and body language to speak all the words, which is what Tony did in return. The music and conversing of other guests ruining their chances of complete silence, but they'd do without. Tony's left hand gingerly stroked up and down the brunette's thigh like he was brush paint onto a canvas or running his hand through crystal clear water. From time to time his eyes would dart down to watch Bucky absently biting his lip and licking them until they turned an alluring shade of red.

“I have a question,” Tony said, ending their mute exchange.

“I'm listenin’,” Bucky responded, pushing a piece of hair away from Tony's forehead.

“Do you know how to dance to any type of Latin dance?” he inquired.

Bucky pursed his lips.

“When I was a kid but I didn't learn much. I picked it back up in college after I met Brock, but that was a few years ago now. So, I might be a little rusty. Why are you askin’?”

Tony held up on gloved finger, before taking the tip of the glove between his teeth and tugging until it slid off, falling to Bucky's lap. He held his other hand up, allowing Bucky to take it off for him, his bare hands now on display. They looked soft to the touch, possibly from scrubbing soap off of them multiple times, leading Bucky to believe that Tony was perhaps a mechanic...or something along those lines. Either way, they still felt kind against his skin.

“I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me?”

“I'll be dancin’ like a newborn giraffe,” Bucky joked, dropping his legs down from Tony's legs to stand up.

“You'll be fine,” Tony encouraged, standing up while holding his hand out.

Bucky stared at his hand as he unclipped his mask to place on the table, leaving his face on full show now, a shy smile crossing his face.

“Hold on a second.”

He placed his right foot up on the chair, reaching for a zip at the hem of his dress to pull it up a few inches. Tony watched with interest, his eyes skirting over the boots to the fishnet stockings then to Bucky's hands. The brunette did the same to the left side of his dress, which created two splits on either side of it to loosen the material around Bucky's thighs.

“It'll help me move my legs.”

Tony hummed.

“Were you showing off those nice legs too?”

“Maybe,” Bucky intoned, winking playfully.

“Come on guapo, let's dance.”

Bucky grinned as he took Tony's hand, following him out to where a small crowd of people were dancing now,

“You speak Spanish huh?”

“Si, un poco...a little. What about you?” Tony asked.

“Italiano.” Bucky answered, with fluency.

“Ah, figures, I thought I heard you speaking it earlier,” he chuckled.

The brunette shrugged.

“Yeah well, it kinda’ happens when you live with somebody who has Italian heritage.”

Tony nodded thoughtfully.

“Understandable. My nanny taught me Spanish.”

“Che carino,”  Bucky cooed.

“Did you just say how cute?” Tony grumbled.

“You don't like it?” he questioned.

“I'm far from cute,” Tony retorted.

Bucky hummed, sliding his hand into the back pocket of Tony's pants.

“You are pretty damn sexy though.”

Tony gasped in a playful way, swiftly spinning Bucky around until his back was pressed against his chest. He coiled one arm around his waist and moved the other up to guide his hand down Bucky's right shoulder to his wrist. his mouth inches from Bucky's ear.

“James you're a horror.”

He could feel the movement of Bucky's mouth curve up, his head turning to the side, half lidded, blue eyes looking back at him.

“I could be your worst nightmare,” he breathed out, leaning into Tony.

It only earned him a throaty chuckle in return.

“Get ready to dance, gorgeous.”

Bucky urged himself to take a deep breath, staring out at guests who were also looking in their direction. The music had stopped, really it was only Bucky and Tony left in the middle of the floor, Tony's hands placed on Bucky like they were meant to be there all this time. He hadn't been lying when he told Tony that it's been awhile since he'd danced, about two and a half, possibly three years ago. However sometimes certain things cemented in a person’s brain for lengthy times, Bucky hoped he was one of the lucky few.

When new music had started, Bucky exhales the breath he'd been holding in. It was a song he was familiar with, ‘La Mordidita’, _The Nibble,_ one he'd practiced to when he was taking dancing lessons. He felt Tony's hands go down to his waist, his teeth nibbling the shell of his ear, he knew, _oh did he know._ And by Bucky's reaction, a shiver and his hand clasping tight to one of Tony's that was on his waist, things were going to be heated. Tony was challenging him, awakening the passion, the _energy_ for dance that Bucky kept locked away for far too long. He forgot how good the music felt to his ears and to how it felt to have someone with their hands so warmly placed upon him.

Timing was essential, Tony nor Bucky missed a beat, hips swaying to the intro before Bucky was spun around to face him, both hands grasping onto Tony's so fluidly. They continued to rock their hips, stepping to a rhythm that worked in their favour, Tony leading with his right foot forward, Bucky with his left, then a swap to the opposite foot, their leading feet moving to the back. It continued for three more beats, until Tony's hand dropped to Bucky's lower back, giving him a push to help him spin out then reeled back in just as quickly.

“I thought you were rusty,” Tony said, keeping his eyes locked on Bucky as they repeated their steps.

“I didn't know how much…” Bucky responded, his voice a tad lower in pitch than usual.

Tony whipped Bucky back around, arm locked around his waist, the other slinking up his thigh, which earned them some wolf whistles from the crowd.

“You're fantastic.”

He was surprised he could move in the boots he was wearing, if anything they felt easy to dance in, although...he wasn't exactly prepared for dancing something fairly complex. Bucky moved with Tony like they'd been dancing for years, his hands always finding Tony's and his feet never once stepping out of line, or on Tony's toes. Both of them led each other now, Tony encouraging Bucky to dance back a few paces, spinning him at the right time and Bucky following strongly. Never once did their eyes avert from each other's either, it was all about the chemistry with a partner, they had to keep the connection. _Man,_ did Bucky feel it to his absolute core.

_“Get him tiger!”_

Bucky laughed with Tony at Sam's sudden call of encouragement, one eyebrow arching up in a suggestive way towards Tony. The lust in Tony's eyes was evident in seconds, pupils expanding until only a faint hint of the brown of his iris was visible. Bucky's fairly sure his were the same, going by the joyous smirk on Tony's face and the wink he got. It was the last thing he expected when arriving at the party, to meet Tony, to feel comfortable around him. Tony was an approachable person, Bucky couldn't put his finger on how or why...but he enjoyed it.

They began to get into the dance now, dancing dangerously close, moving out swiftly,  hips shaking, swaying and keeping up with the tempo changes. Occasionally Bucky would throw one arm around Tony's neck, extending the other out while the glided across the floor more, faces inches apart. Tony would grab that extended arm and put it around his neck also, both hands finding Bucky's waist, feeling the brunette's hips rotate, ice blue eyes with rings of black, drinking him in. Bucky's hand ran down Tony's chest to his abdomen, two fingers teasing at his belt which made Tony's breath hitch and Bucky snicker.

“Easy babe.”

Tony let out a low growl, yanking Bucky forward, their hips bumping together as he kept his hand firmly on Bucky's waist. He slid his fingers up Bucky's left arm, lips brushing the long expanse of his neck before stopping at his ear.

“Time for you to glide, guapo.”

Bucky wasn't allowed the chance to respond, yet as if on instinct he dropped to the floor, his upper body supported by Tony. He was sent gliding gracefully across the floor, a few inches from Tony who danced towards him, hauling him back up onto his feet and dipping him back. The adrenaline was really starting to course through him, with an exciting, electrifying feeling that put the biggest smile on Bucky's face. They picked up the pace further, throwing a few more improvised tricks into their dance, Bucky allowing himself to trust Tony, and vice versa.

“I'm not finished yet,” Bucky challenged, hinting an upcoming chance for him to seriously _fire it up._

Turning his back to Tony, Bucky gyrated his hips from left to right to the slow intro of a rap piece, then shook them quickly. The movement worked up from his feet to his hips, the fast beat pulsing through him, his arms propped above his head. In a simpler form he was literally ‘showing off all the goods’. Wolf whistles, cheers and hollers from the crowd boosted Bucky's confidence to the very top Iike he'd never felt before.

Facing Tony again, who looked incredibly impressed, maybe vaguely turned on by Bucky's hip and ass shaking, Bucky threw his hand over the brunette's shoulder for the next part. They kept their bodies close, Bucky's groin riding right against Tony's thigh, their hips rocking in a _one, two,_ motion, Tony's hand planted just above Bucky's right ass cheek. The action was repeated three more times, the pair might as well have been fucking on the dance floor by how _hot_ their dancing became.

Tony grasped Bucky's hands back in his, bringing them back out into the small basic steps they had going when they first started. Their eyes locked, drowning in intensity and desire for each other, Tony's fingers giving his hands a squeeze. They radiated closer, breathing heavily and catching the warmth on their lips, Bucky finding it hard to contain a soft gasp in his throat. Even when the music began to fade to an end, neither of them could tear themselves away from each other.

“Tony…”

The brunette hadn't noticed they'd stopped, Bucky's toned frame held securely in his arms, foreheads touching while they panted with their chests rising and falling erratically. More music continued to play with guests moving back onto the floor to dance, after giving it all for Tony and Bucky to dance on. Tony blinked through the haze that was swimming in front of his eyes, his heart beginning to beat slower, bringing himself down from the rush he’d been on. Bucky smiled at him, guiding him out from the crowd to move back to where they’d been sitting, his hands warm and inviting.

“You...were amazing,” Tony breathed out.

“I was average, I guess,” Bucky replied.

“What are you talking about, you owned that floor,” he said.

Bucky shrugged sheepishly.

“I'm not used to a lot of compliments. And you've been doin’ that a lot through the night.”

Tony's mouth stretched into a smirk, as he swung his arm around Bucky's waist.

“Well you happen to be the most gorgeous person here, so why not?”

“Flatterer,” Bucky chuckled.

“Guilty as charged,” the brunette retorted.

As they approached their vacant seats, the pair spotted their friends crowded around with drinks in their hands. Brock was the first to clock them, raising a glass of whiskey towards them.

“Bello, you were fantastic! Molto bene!”

“Aw, Rumball. Grazie,” Bucky answered, with a coy smile, watching Brock's eyes narrow.

“Why do you wanna’ hurt me like this?”

“Wow, Rumball, that's a smart nickname,” Tony interjected, accepting the drink Steve was holding out to them.

Jack scoffed.

“Bucky was drunk on rumballs when he gave me the nickname,” Brock mused.

“He always calls me Robin Hood because I teach archery dressed up as him,” Clint uttered.

Bucky whined.

“Don't expose me.”

“Wait, you know each other?” Tony interrupted.

Natasha grinned.

“We were playing along that we didn't know him, when you said you were checking him out.”

“I'm offended! the brunette shouted.

“Small world,” Bucky said, shrugging languidly.

“Listen up. He calls me Choclatino,” Sam added, pointing a finger at Bucky.

“That's ‘cause I'm Vanilla Ice!” the brunette exclaimed.

_“Ice, ice baby.”_

The entire group howled with laughter at their perfectly synced rendition of the song, reaching out for somebody or something to hold onto for support. Tony still had his arm around Bucky's waist, holding him steadily, even if most of his weight was bracing down on him. Bucky wrapped both of his arms around Tony, earning a curious look from Tony before he smiled sweetly at him. Natasha looked at the pair with a side-glance, swirling the wine in her class, as the corner of her mouth curved up.

“They look nice together.”

Clint nodded in agreement with her.

“Twenty bucks says they actually become a thing in the next few weeks.”

Natasha twirled a piece of Clint’s blonde wig between her thumb and index finger, her mossy green eyes catching Clint’s.

“Twenty bucks and I’ll throw a little something in on the side. But you’ll have to wait for that,” she hummed.

“You’re a wicked woman...I love it,” Clint said, leaning down to kiss her tenderly on the lips.

While everybody else split into their own groups to chat, Tony nuzzled the side of Bucky’s face, stroking his hand up and down his left side. His head moved up until he was pressing his lips against the junction of Bucky’s jaw and ear.

“Follow me.”

He had Bucky’s attention immediately, watching his lips part and pupils dilate again when he lightly kneaded his fingers into Bucky’s lower back. Bucky took his hand that he held out for him, grasping it warmly without even a second glance back at his friends. They walked towards the crowds of guests, searching for a clear path and weaving past like two men on a mission. Tony’s heart was pounding rapidly in his chest, his grip gradually tightening as they got closer to finding some privacy. He’d even managed to sneak themselves past Rhodey, who would certainly start asking questions or to introduce himself to Bucky. As much as Tony may have wanted that to happen, he wanted to take care of unfinished business.

“Tony, where are we goin’?” Bucky spoke up, loudly over the music.

Bucky kept his gaze to the front, passing by people in a blur and keeping his hold on Tony's hand. He walked faster so he was now beside Tony, squeezing his hand, which followed by an exchange of looks that could be read as _‘I want you’_ ones. They slowed down when they approached three doors, that Bucky could only assume were bathrooms or rooms for people to relax in. Tony reached for the handle of the middle door, swinging it open with a bit of force before leading Bucky inside. It was a study, lined with bookcases at the back of the room, a desk situated in the middle.

His skin prickled at the possible outcome of why they'd wandered into this room. The adrenaline still simmered in the pit of his stomach, his breathing taking another turn of becoming increasingly abnormal. Tony let the door click into place, skimming his fingers over the lock, only to leave it as it was...unlocked. Bucky's hands rested against the desk that he'd backed himself towards, his legs parting enough to give Tony space to slot himself between them. The brunette's tongue darted out to moisten his bottom lip, his eyes raking all over Tony.

Tony strode over to Bucky, unhurriedly, focusing on him with bedroom eyes that were already making Bucky a little weak at the knees. He stopped in the space between Bucky’s legs, hands falling to either side of him on the desk, the brunette’s hands sliding up his chest to hang loosely over his shoulders. Leaning in close, Tony’s hands moved to Bucky’s hips, fingers caressing his lower back and teasing a patch of exposed skin where a slit was cut in the dress. Bucky inched closer with a small gasp, fingers threading through Tony’s hair, now putting them nose to nose with each other.

“Now that we’re alone…” Tony soothed, sliding his hand under the fabric of the dress.

Bucky smiled as he bit down on his lip, worrying it between his teeth.

“ _Mm,_ what’d you have in mind?”

“I think you know,” he muttered.

Neither of them wasted time in getting their mouths on each other, clumsily at first until they figured each other out. Tony delved his tongue past Bucky's parted lips, unable to contain a moan deep in his throat when Bucky pulled on his hair with a rough tug. Bucky let his tongue glide against Tony's, working out what worked best, and what didn't, he may have become a perfectionist when it came to kissing. Yet, himself and Tony appeared to be on the same level of what they liked, thrusting their tongues into each other's mouths in a rough, feisty manner.

“You have no idea-”

Tony paused to bite on Bucky's bottom lip, making him sigh and press his body closer.

“...how much I've wanted-”

He stopped again when Bucky's left hand untucked his shirt from his pants and pressed against bare skin, cold metal sending a shiver up Tony's spine.

“...to do this tonight.”

“You and me both, pal,” Bucky taunted.

Tony’s hands cupped his ass firmly, pushing him up onto the edge of the table, eliciting a yell of surprise from the brunette, his knees pressed aside Tony's hips. He'd thought he'd taken it too far, but Bucky fisted his hands in the collar of Tony's shirt, yanked him forward and crushed their mouths together in another heated kiss. Their hands roamed everywhere, on clothes, on bare skin, intoxicated from the sexual tension that built up during the night, and a small percentage of alcohol too.

“ _Fuck._ ”

Bucky's head lolled back when Tony's crotch rubbed right against his own, his velvety, lace underwear doing nothing but make Bucky's cock harder than it was already. Even Tony couldn't hide the outline of his semi-hard dick, prompting Bucky to cup his hand there and give a playful squeeze through his pants.

“ _Ah._ ”

It was a pleasing sound that fell out of Tony's mouth, throaty and choked as he kissed the hollow of Bucky's neck, biting down to leave a mark behind. Bucky’s legs wrapped around Tony’s waist, bringing him impossibly closer, thick, muscular thighs holding him there, disallowing any movement Tony might try to take. Tony however, only pushed Bucky down on the desk, one hand tucked under his head, the other nimbly slapping onto his right thigh.

“Shoulda’ brought me here sooner,” Bucky taunted, flicking his tongue over his bottom lip.

“Yeah?” Tony replied, with a modest smile.

Bucky hummed.

“We could have been doin’ this way before now.”

Tony chuckled.

“We can be here for the rest of the night if you want.”

Almost as soon as Tony and Bucky commenced what they’d started, the door to the room opened with a creak. Bucky fumbled to sit up, peering over Tony’s shoulder to see Sam standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. He raised an eyebrow and grinned knowingly at Bucky, who could feel the blush spreading from his cheeks down to his neck.

“Really you two, at a party?” he said.

“We took it to a room though didn’t we?” Tony bit back.

Bucky snorted.

“Maybe you coulda’ locked the door, Tony.”

Tony scowled at Bucky.

“Fine, I can take the blame for that.”

Sam pushed himself away from the door, arms dropping to his side.

“We’re about to play some game called ‘Never Have I Ever’, like we’re in college again. Was comin’ here to find you two incase you wanted to join.”

“Well I don’t think-” Tony paused, with Bucky’s hand clapped over his mouth.

“Sure, we’ll be there in a minute,” Bucky interjected.

“Okay, when you’re both done goin’ first base like you’re at a damn baseball game, come find us?” Sam snarked, seeing Bucky roll his eyes in response.

“Only you Sam, only you,” he sighed.

The door closed quietly behind Sam after he left, drowning out the music and laughter on the other side of it, except for the loud vibrations of more upbeat music being played. Tony looked back at Bucky, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, stroking his fingers down Bucky’s cheek.

“That was short lived.”

Bucky nodded as he stood up from the desk, putting his arms back up on Tony’s shoulders.

“I could suggest somethin’.”

“Tell me,” Tony hummed, nuzzling his nose against Bucky’s cheek.

“Do you wanna’ come back to my place after a couple of rounds of this game? We can finish what we started too.”

Tony’s mood visibly picked up, big, brown doe eyes popping open a fraction.

“If you want me to.”

“I do,” Bucky murmured, raking his fingers through Tony’s hair.

“Well-” Tony started, snaking his arms around Bucky’s waist to hold him. “...it’s a yes from me,” he added.

That was all Bucky wanted to hear, smiling happily as he followed Tony back out to the party, eager for the night that was about to unfold.

* * *

Bucky woke to the sound of yelling outside his bedroom window, something that he regularly woke up to...and hated. The apartment he shared with Jack and Brock wasn't in the best neighbourhood, but it was all that they could afford. Bucky worked for a small wage, Jack did too, but Brock could only do volunteer work until he was given the all clear by his therapist. Sometimes, they were helped along by Brock's parents when rent got tight, Bucky always said they didn't need to do it for them, yet they did anyway. He didn't take it for granted either, his own parents gave him a small sum of money, and that's all he ever asked for. Jack's parents were another story.

It wasn't bad for a cheaply priced apartment in Brooklyn, functional for three adults, pet friendly too. Even if it wasn't, they'd be having a long argument with the landlord considering Bucky had a therapy dog, as did Brock and Jack. Bucky's dog was called Althea, an energetic and loving Labrador that he became attached to immediately after seeing her. The other, Janek, a spry, good-natured Golden Retriever, was nearing retirement, however Jack and Brock already filed paperwork to adopt him when it happened.

Despite it being a pet friendly building, their neighbour who lived on their left wasn't too happy about the situation. Bucky could hear Brock's voice downstairs, most likely yelling out of the window where the kitchen was. With their neighbour being Italian, heated words were always exchanged between himself and Brock in their mother tongue. Which was lucky, because Bucky often picked out several insulting names that would best not be shared in English.

_“Uh.”_

Bucky’s eyes opened but immediately shut again when he was blinded by the early morning sun shining in his window. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, dry, heavy and in desperate need of a liquid substance. He turned away from the window, his screaming headache dumbing down after all the shouting and somebody else’s dog barking had stopped.

“Shit, I need to stop drinkin’ so much.”

He rubbed at his tired eyes, finally able to open them, coming face to face with an empty space beside him. Figures he thought, touching the indent on the mattress which was still warm, meaning Tony must have left not too long ago. His fingers brushed over a card on the pillow, propped upright by a pair of sunglasses underneath it. Bucky picked it up, while twisting back to look out at the view from his window, the sun no longer harsh on his eyes.

Bits and pieces from the previous night were fresh in his mind, making him smile and bury his face back into the pillow. He remembered how good Tony's hands felt to be on him, how wonderful it felt to feel every part of him singing when he was pushed to the edge. It was the best night he’d had in months since he’d returned home. Everything before then wasn’t so easy going. Yet spending the night with Tony felt like he’d made progress, which was definitely what he wanted.

Sitting upon his bedside table was a glass of water, two painkillers, a square of chocolate and a note. He propped himself up on his elbows, taking the painkillers in hand and popping them in his mouth, before swallowing them down with water. Bucky grabbed the chocolate, as well as the note, scanning his eyes over it, still blinking away sleep that hadn’t fully subsided yet. Knowing that it was Jack’s writing straight away, made him wonder if Tony had crossed his path before he left. He didn’t want to get his hopes up too quickly, but he did feel something instantly when he’d met him at the party.

_Tony had to go to work, he says he’s sorry. But he left his number. Hope your head doesn’t feel too bad, have the painkillers and eat the chocolate, it’ll help. P.S. Brock says it sounded like you had fun last night, thanks for keepin’ us awake - Jack_

Bucky laughed around the chocolate he stuffed in his mouth, licking the melted parts of it off his fingers. Reaching for Tony’s card again, he yawned loudly and stared back at the card that was basically a name tag.

_You know who I am._

“What?”

Turning the card over in his hand, Bucky sat up further and leant forward with his elbows resting on his thighs. His eyes darted over the numbers on the back one for a personal phone number and the other…

“...Stark Industries.”

Bucky’s hand flew up to his mouth, highly unaware that it was himself that let out a loud scream of shock and realisation, the card falling from his other hand. He heard the metal of the stairs clanging under heavy footsteps, but ignored it, in favour of dropping his head in his hands. _How did I not notice Tony. Stark. You idiot Bucky_ he said to himself. Bucky looked back up to see Brock standing in his doorway, dressed in his gym gear, a tight expression still spread across his face.

“What the hell are you screamin’ about?” he asked.

“I slept with Tony Stark last night!” Bucky exclaimed.

He winced and held his hand to his head, eyes scrunched closed as the pain ebbed then dulled. Brock shook his head with a chuckle, stepping further into the room.

“I could have told you that.”

Bucky waved the card at Brock, his brows knitted together to match his down turned mouth.

“Why didn't you tell me he was _the_ Tony Stark!”

“Thought it woulda’ clicked with you, kiddo,” Brock answered.

“Brock. I only knew his first name, there's bound to be hundreds of other people called Tony,” the brunette hissed.

Brock moved over to the end of the bed, leaning against the bedpost, one hand hidden away in the pocket of his shorts.

“His face isn't that hard to not notice.”

The irritated grunt that Bucky let out sounded hoarse in his throat, like he'd been punched there and his voice had dropped to deeper pitches.

“But I barely pay attention to CEO’s of big businesses! All I knew was that his last name was Stark, which was what you told me before I even agreed to go to the damn party!”

His friend clucked his tongue.

“There was a slim chance that there would be other Tony’s at that other. And it really didn't click with you that _this_ Tony might be him?”

“No!” Bucky squawked.

“Why're you gettin’ so worked up about it? It's not a bad thing, you two were hittin’ it off last night,” Brock reasoned, watching Bucky's face crumple.

“‘Cause he's _Tony Stark_ …and I'm just, _me._ ”

Brock sat down on the bed, inching himself closer to Bucky, his face softening when he saw him put his hand over his eyes, with a shaky exhale following after. He pushed Bucky's hand away and lifted his head, cupping the back of his neck and the scruff of his hair.

“Listen to me-no don't look away. Look at me, Bucky…” he murmured. “C’mon big guy, work with me here,” he added.

Bucky stared back at Brock with glassy eyes, urging himself to keep it together and stop reacting in a bad way. But when Bucky's mind got the better of him, his emotions, his state of mind, they all sky rocketed to the worst of places. Anxiety always got the better of him, once it hit, it didn't leave until he worked his way down from it. He just felt damn lucky he had people who cared enough to help him, every time.

“Deep breaths, that's it.”

“M’sorry,” Bucky muttered.

“Hey, hey, don't be. You have nothin’ to be sorry about. I know it’s rough right now...it's shit. But you’re still here. And you're not limited to what you do, just ‘cause you're a veteran. You're allowed to go out and have fun, and meet people, and bring home those people,” Brock lectured.

“But-” he started.

Brock shook his head sternly.

“No. Stop. It doesn't matter who you bring home Bucky. Doesn't matter that Tony's a well known businessman. To you he wasn't that, you know it. Don't bring yourself down because of the situation you're in. That doesn't make you any less of a person, and I'm sure he'd say the same. He left you his number, pretty sure that's a sign that he's taken an interest in you. Yeah?”

“Yeah…” Bucky croaked, chewing on the corner of his bottom lip.

“C’mere, you're killin’ me with that kicked puppy look.”

They embraced warmly, refraining from saying a word as Bucky quickly wiped away a tear with his thumb. Because Brock was right, how they lived wasn't great, it hadn't been easy since they'd been discharged and flown back home. Tony never once treated him differently, the only difference really was the connection _they_ had and not what Tony had with others.

“It was the most fun I've had since we got back. Not sayin’ that what happened a couple of months ago wasn’t fun, but this was...different.”

“Good, you deserve it,” Brock whispered, parting from the hug and touching Bucky's cheek again before dropping his hand.

“What am I gonna’ do?”

“Call him,” he suggested.

The brunette groaned painfully, falling back into his pillows with a soft ‘twump’, his metal arm thrown over his eyes while he shook his head. Brock snickered, patting his leg lightly.

“How's your head?”

“It's poundin’ like a moshpit at a Korn concert,” Bucky whimpered, slapping his hand on Brock’s when he laughed.

_“Did you take the painkillers I left for you?”_

“ _Oh god,_ Jack, don’t come in here, I’m a mess,” he whined, peering at Jack from a small gap under his arm.

“Pretty sure I’ve seen worse,” Jack mused.

Bucky didn’t need to think twice about what Jack meant by that statement.

“Okay, maybe I’m not _that_ bad.”

He felt the bed dip as Brock stood up again, clapping Bucky on the leg again.

“I gotta’ go train some of the residents at the shelter. You gonna’ be fine gettin’ to work?”

“Yeah, yeah...you know me, a shower, some breakfast and an episode of _Friends_ will move my hangover along,” Bucky grumbled.

“Alright, I’ll see you two later.”

Bucky let out a gagging sound when Brock kissed Jack on the way out, sending him a mischievous smirk his way.

“Public displays of affection in my room aren’t allowed.”

“Unless it’s you banging hot CEO’s!” Brock called.

“Fuck off Brock!”

“Love you too!” he sang, from the bottom of the stairs.

“Remind me why you’re marrying him again?” Brock joked.

Jack rolled his eyes and walked over to Bucky’s bedside.

“Because I love him, now scoot over.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot, you’re both idiots in love,” Bucky said, shifting a few back on the bed.

The bed dipped again when Jack sat down, resting back against the mountain of pillows, his hand resting atop Bucky’s head.

“You’re in one of your snarky moods again.”

Bucky shrugged and dropped his head down in Jack’s lap, his arms hugging Jack around his waist.

“Just tryin’ to look forward to another day.”

“You should call him, y’know,” Jack encouraged, hearing Bucky grumble again.

“God, not you too Pookie.”

“Peach, you looked happy last night. I know Brock already gave you this talk, but Tony was the one that walked over and talked to you, right?” he inquired, smoothing his hand over Bucky’s hair.

The brunette nodded.

“What’s that gotta’ do with...all of this?”

Jack sighed and ruffled Bucky’s hair.

“All I’m sayin’ is, Tony was watchin’ you from across the room when you were looking for food to eat. I saw him struggling to go over to you, but he did eventually, but I still think he was nervous. Look at it closer Bucky, he noticed _you_ out of hundreds of other people at that party. He saw you and must’ve felt somethin’ that made him want to introduce himself. Besides like Brock said, he left his number, he wouldn’t ask you to call him, or leave his number if you were just a one night stand.”

“Brock would probably wanna’ kick his ass if I was,” Bucky snorted.

“ _That,_ I wouldn’t let him do. But he does dislike seein’ you unhappy. So do I, but, we don’t want to interfere, you do what you want at your own pace.”

“You really think I should call Tony?” the brunette mumbled.

“Sure. But...whenever you want. Even if you decide not to, you’ve still got us. We’re not gonna’ try and tell you that you’re making a mistake or anything.”

Bucky smiled with a little tremble on his lips, sitting up to coil his arms around Jack’s neck and hug him.

“I love you guys.”

“We love you too, you know we’re always here for you,” Jack soothed, squeezing him tighter.

“Do you wanna’ take the ride to work with me?”

“I was going to anyway, it’s a Saturday,” he retorted.

“ _Boo,_ you lucky bastard, you don’t need to work,” Bucky huffed, reclining back into bed.

He felt Jack tap his nose, causing him to scrunch his nose from the tickling sensation.

“Least you’re not on night shift, Monday to Friday. I was lucky to have last night off to go to the party.”

“But we had fun, right?” Bucky asked.

“Of course we did. I’ll go downstairs and wash the dishes, you can grab a shower when you’re ready. Then I’ll whip us up some breakfast before we leave.”

Bucky’s eyes fell back to Tony’s card he’d discarded to the side once Jack left, his headache still too painful to even think reasonably. Althea, who was lounging on her bed, padded over to Bucky, nudging his hand with her cold, wet nose, gaining his attention as he scratched under her chin. He patted the free space beside him, waiting for the Lab to jump up and nestle in next to him.

“What should I do huh?”

Althea wagged her tail happily, bumping Bucky's hand so that it landed on top of the card. Bucky's mouth twitched at the corner, curving into a smile as he stared back at his canine companion, fidgeting with the card.

“I don't think I'll call him yet. Gotta’ figure this out with a clear head.”

To Bucky it felt like the right choice, he hated thinking when his mind was a mess, which always led to bad decisions. Tony would understand, he was sure of it. Bucky exhaled deeply, turning back onto his right side, feeling Althea rest her head on his hand. He was only going back to sleep for a short while, hoping the painkillers would kick in during that time.

“A little nap won't hurt.”

The brunette dozed off to the thoughts of having Tony in his bed, whispering things in his ear that made him blissed out. Yet it was short lived, as he soon drifted into the dark place in his head. Finding himself lying on dusty ground, with the smell of smoke close by, ringing in his ears, searing hot pain on his left side...and Jack calling out to him.

_“Bucky! Wake up!_

He screamed in fear.

_“Bucky!”_

* * *

_“So, Vanilla Ice, did you get a touchdown last night?”_

“Sam, enough with the sports euphemisms already!” Bucky

They’d only just opened the small cafe which doubled as a bakery, that Sam and Steve owned on the busy streets of Manhattan. Their usual customers didn’t arrive until fifteen minutes after opening, so the three of them were filling the coffee machines, putting fresh pastries in the displays and conversing while they were at it. Although, Bucky wasn’t exactly in the mood for it after his calm morning turned into a complete fucking disaster.

“Hey, what’s the matter man. You haven’t looked right since you got here,” Sam issued.

He was hoping neither Sam nor Steve would have noticed, but he was gripping the counter until his knuckles were white, and his whole body was tense. Althea was curled up in a corner behind the counter, perking her ears up as soon as Bucky’s body language changed.

“I hit Jack when he woke me from a nightmare...I fuckin’ _hit_ him, Sam.”

Sam nodded slowly.

“That ever happened before?”

“No. Ever since the nightmares started, I've never hit anybody when they woke me up. I don’t think I knew where I was when I woke up. All I saw was a threat,” Bucky explained.

“Bucky, it must have been a pretty severe one if that happened. And I know it can be good and bad to wake somebody up during one of those. Probably best if you only have Althea wake you up, since you always say she’s on the ground when she wakes you up, there’s no risk for her then. But Jack’s gonna’ be okay, yeah?” Steve questioned.

“That doesn't matter Steve, even if it was unintentional I still hurt him. I'm scared to go home ‘cause of it. What makes it worse is I got him with this hand.” Bucky wavered, holding his metal hand up, before shoving it into his pocket.

He couldn’t stomach looking at it, knowing he'd have to put his glove on so that it didn't bother him for the rest of his shift. Having to work up his self esteem to show his hand in public nevermind his entire prosthetic arm. Steve’s hand fell on his right shoulder, the way he always used to do it when they were in high school together. For some strange reason it gave Bucky comfort.

“It was unintentional Buck. You’ll find a way to stop it from ever happenin’ again, everything’s gonna’ be fine.”

“Bucky,” Sam uttered, tugging on his sleeve.

The bell above the door chimed as Bucky glanced up from staring at the counter, his breath catching in his throat when Brock walked in. His palm started sweating and his heart raced to the point where it might as well have ripped out his chest. He wasn’t prepared for this.

“Brock.”

Brock’s gaze landed on him, his eyes concerned, but soft, letting out a sigh of relief.

“You’re here.”

He hurried over to the side of the counter, prompting Bucky to move there too, quickly dragged into Brock’s arms as soon as he was close enough.

“I’m so sorry,” Bucky choked out.

“It’s okay buddy. You did nothin’ wrong,” Brock replied, holding Bucky at arms length. “Are you okay? I didn’t know if you were goin’ to be here after this morning,” he continued.

Bucky stared down at his feet with a shake of his head.

“I’ve still got a job to do. Is Jack okay?”

“He’s gonna’ be fine, it was just an accident. I’m not mad, neither is he, kinda’ was more worried about you. I just wanted to drop by here and see if you were alright before I went home,” Brock said.

“I can’t believe it happened.”

Brock rubbed his hands up and down Bucky’s arms slowly.

“I went ahead and got you scheduled in to see your therapist this afternoon. You can go before you take Althea for a walk, if you want? If you think that’s what you need. She said you can cancel if you don’t feel up to it. No pressure.”

“No I want to go,” Bucky sighed. “I think that’s what I need, this is somethin’ I can’t let slip. Given it’s only happened once, I’m hopin’ it doesn’t happen again, but I think she could help me out. And I don’t want either of you to wake me up from one from now on,” he added.

“Bucky.”

“No, Brock. I’m serious, Jack chose to wake me up, without thinkin’ I would do that ‘cause I know he’s woken me from ones before, so have you. I ain’t riskin’ it again where I could hurt you, him or somebody else really badly. It got me thinkin’ about what if I’d had one when Tony was there last night,” he stated.

“Ah, so you did get a touchdown!” Sam yelled.

“Sam please,” Steve groaned.

Sam threw his hands up in defense at the pleading glares he got from all three of them. .

“Sorry, sorry. I’m gonna’ fix you and your man a coffee, on the house, Brock.”

Brock smiled tiredly.  

“Appreciate it.”

Bucky turned back to Brock, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Althea can wake me up if it’s needed. It’s easier this way.”

“Y’know what...you’re right, don’t know how many close calls I’ve almost had with Jack, and vice versa. Whatever you think is right kiddo, I’ll support you,” Brock hummed.

“I guess I can try leave here early and go to my appointment, then walk Brooklyn a little earlier than usual.”

“Buck, y’know Sam and I can take care of the last few hours before we close. Whatever helps you get better, you can leave whenever you want,” Steve offered.

“Thanks Stevie,” Bucky chimed, flashing him a brief grin.

“Did you end up callin’ Tony?” Brock queried.

“I didn't. But I think I will, durin’ my walk...kinda’ wanted to have a clear head before I talked to him,” he said.

Brock nodded and put his arm around Bucky's shoulder while Sam handed him a cup holder with two fresh coffees in it, pecking a kiss on Bucky's temple.

“See you later. And thanks again, Wilson, Rogers.”

Sam waved goodbye then disappeared into the back room

“Don't mention it!”

Bucky listened for the bell ringing again, a playful smirk spreading across his face.

“Don't let the door hit your big ass on the way out!”

Steve snorted from beside him, the pair watching Brock turn around and pull a face at them, accidentally bumping into a woman coming into the shop. She batted him with the newspaper in her hand, while Bucky and Steve keeled over with laughter at the embarrassed look on his face. Sam managed to turn back at the right time too, witnessing what was happening and slapping his hands on his knees with a full bodied laugh coursing through him.

“He's gonna’ get m-me b-back for t-that,” Bucky stuttered, through the odd snort and barrel of laughter.

“Oh man, I never thought I'd see Brock Rumlow embarrassed from gettin’ hit by some old lady’s newspaper,” Sam laughed, leaning against the wall for support.

“Okay, calm down both of you, we've got customers comin’ in,” Steve chuckled.

Bucky reached under the counter for his glove, sliding it over his left hand, along with a remote for the stereo, sitting on a shelf closest to the counter. He clicked the skip button three times, feeling his mood brighten slightly when one of his favourite song began playing.

“Got to get you into my life. Into my life,” Sam sang.

And of course, Sam’s favourite too.

“Got to get you into my life. Into my life,” Bucky sang back.

The pair stood side by side at the coffee machines, with Steve manning the register, their smiles widening when they glanced at each other. Steve's mouth curved up when he wrote down the first order, knowing full well what was about to happen. Sam and Bucky always had a tendency to burst into song during work, each taking turns for a line of lyrics, Sam first, then Bucky.

_“I was alone, I took a ride, I didn't know what I would find there.”_

_“Another road, where maybe I could see another kind of mind there.”_

Before they both joined their voices together while working on coffee orders.

_“Ooh, then I suddenly see you, ooh.”_

_“Oooh, did I tell you I need you every single day of my life?”_

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Got an order here! Caffe Latte with three sugars ‘cause she likes it sweet.”

“She likes it as sweet as hersel-oh hi Mrs Rogers!” Sam greeted, waving at Sarah.

“Hi Sam.”

“Oh my god Sam,” Bucky cackled, kicking his friend gently on the ankle.”Hittin’ on your boyfriend’s mom,” he tutted.

Sam frowned, kicking Bucky back on the shin.

“It was not like that, I was complimenting her. She's a beautiful woman anyway.”

“Are they always like this?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah ma, always, especially Bucky,” Steve accused.

“Hey! Rude,” the brunette groused.

Sarah beamed at Bucky.

“Hello sweetheart.”

Bucky smiled widely at Sarah, blowing her a kiss.

“Hey ma.”

“I see how it is, you get to call her ma,” Sam huffed out.

“Sam, honey, you can call me ma if you want. I'd expect you to be calling me it after-” she stopped abruptly at Steve clearing his throat.

Bucky quirked an eyebrow, at Sam, but he didn't seem to notice Steve's look of panic on his face.

“Nah, I think I might call you mama bear,” he declared.

“Aww.” Bucky teased, pinching Sam's cheek. “I haven't seen you in weeks Sarah, been awhile,” he said.  

Sarah leant against the counter with a weary exhale.

“I've been busy, very busy. I'm actually heading to Stark Industries once I get my coffee.”

Suddenly, Bucky’s body tensed like he'd completely shut down from that one sentence, staring at the flashing button on the coffee machine in a daze. It wasn't until he felt something hot on his hand that brought him out of it, shouting in pain and dropping the mug he had for the milk frother. The contents splattered on the floor, also on his jeans from the mug being too full with froth through Bucky's lack of attention.

“Shit, sorry,” he apologised, kneeling down on the floor to clean it up.

“Don't worry ‘bout it Bucky, I got you,” Sam spoke, calmly.

“I wasn't-I just-” Bucky faltered, inhaling sharply to stop the anxiety creeping up on him.

Sam crouched down in front of him, his hands clutched tightly around Bucky's.

“Bucky. Stop. You're okay.”

“Is he okay?” Sarah spoke, worry laced in her voice, her eyes on Steve.

“Yeah ma, he had a rough mornin’. Here, take a pastry on the house too. Good luck with whatever you're seein’ Tony for.”

“Business deal. I'll call you later baby boy,” she crooned.

“Aw ma, c’mon. I'm twenty eight!”

Sarah turned back after reaching the door, opening it just as the next customers filed in.

“Still my baby boy!”

Steve slapped his hand on his forehead.

“God dammit.”

He peered down at Bucky and Sam who were cleaning up the froth, a relieved look crossing over his features. Bucky tossed the mug into the sink in the back room, wiping excess froth from his jeans and off his fingers, reaching for the first aid kit behind him. Sam busied himself with the newest orders, keeping an eye on Bucky as he put cream on the small burn he'd sustained.

“Talk to me Barnes, what's goin’ on with you and Tony. I mean...I know you got cozy at the party. But, is there more to it?”

Bucky's shoulders slumped in defeat.

“We did sleep together, and it was real nice. I mean it's not like I've been without sex for a long time. The last time was maybe three months ago. But with Tony it was totally different, it didn't feel like a fun one nighter...it felt like somethin’ more.”

Sam’s face bunched up in confusion.

“Wait, who were you with three months ago?”

The brunette threw him a _‘who do you think?’_ look, the realisation dawning on his friend’s face.

“Really? You three?”

“Are we talkin’ about Tony and I or what? ‘Cause I’d really like to talk ‘bout it,” he protested.

“Right, sorry, it was three months ago, not important,” Sam said, pouring milk into a takeaway cup.

“So he left his number, under a pair of his sunglasses, on the pillow. It was there when I woke up,” Bucky explained.

Sam passed the cup over to Bucky to fill it with coffee.

“That’s weird, for him.”

Bucky frowned.

“What do you mean _for him?_ ”

“Have you ever read the tabloids Bucky? There’s a lot of rumours in them,” Sam intoned.

“I don’t give a shit about the tabloids Sam. They’re full of lies ‘cause they don’t even sit down and have a one on one with people. They pull stuff out their goddamn ass and it becomes fodder for them.”

“Didn’t say I believed it, just they labelled him as a playboy. That might have been the case in his younger days, but people change,” he added.

“Yeah well, they’re wrong anyway...he was everything but that last night. He was caring, made me laugh and he even made me smile, for real this time,” Bucky bit back, popping the cap on another cup of coffee.

Sam smiled sympathetically.

“You like him huh?”

“Is it bad if I do? Even if I didn’t have a fuckin’ clue that he was Tony Stark of Stark Industries,” the brunette replied.

“That shouldn’t matter. You could be the a famous actor, or a singer and it still wouldn’t matter. Look, the only thing I know is Tony’s not had a committed relationship for a year or two now. The fact that he’s left a number behind for you, makes me think he wants to see where things go with you. I think you’d be a great pair.”

All Sam got in return was a shrug.

“We might have slept together but that doesn’t give us a one way ticket to a happily ever after. I’m attracted to him, for sure. But, I need to know who the _real_ Tony is and not what these obnoxious journalists say that he is. All I’ve heard so far are good things about him from Brock and Jack, does it sound weird if I wanna’ see that for myself?”

“Absolutely not,” Sam responded. “Go for it,” he encouraged.

“I’ll call him after my appointment.”

“Yes! That’s my Vanilla Ice!” Sam cheered.

“Cut it out Choclatino,” Bucky snorted, shoving his friend to the side playfully.

Bucky turned back to the machine, drowning out the noise around him when Steve called Sam over for some help. Only one question floated around in his head about calling Tony.. _.what the hell was he going to say?_

* * *

Streams of evening sunlight lined Brooklyn Heights Promenade, looking over the river as Manhattan came to life on the other side. Bucky was enjoying his daily walk that he took, with his four legged companion in tow, and his favourite walking playlist on shuffle. His appointment with his therapist took longer than expected, not that it affected Bucky, he wanted to get everything off his chest. Explaining the situation with his nightmare, plus Jack was one of the main things he discussed with her. And she was extremely understanding about it, offering advice and asking Bucky if it'd changed things back home.

Luckily, it hadn't, Bucky wasn't sure how Jack could even look at him, let alone hug the crap out of him when he stepped through the door. But it was a hurdle Bucky had to jump over and move along with, adamant to never have a recurrence of the situation ever again. If anything, it gave him a dose of confidence to believe that he was working through his struggles, and also to believe in himself. A year ago, everything would have been alien to him in relation to trying to find his way back into society. Yet he knew deep down nothing would be the same as it used to, the army changed his life. However, he wanted to take each day in his stride, recovering and healing at his own pace.

Bucky approached one of the benches, groaning as he sat down, his muscles in need of a short rest before he made the journey home. Althea sat down at his feet, her head resting on his leg as he scratched behind her ear. He looked out at the picturesque view before him, fishing his phone from his pocket to take a picture, then turned it around to snap a picture of himself and Althea, her attention turning to the camera at the right moment. Bucky chuckled to himself, bringing up the share options on his phone to post the pictures to social media sites. He’d had accounts for each one since highschool, but they’d been abandoned after he enlisted and only picked them back up fairly recently. The brunette’s thumb skimmed over _Facebook, Tumblr_ and _Instagram,_ quickly typing in a caption before selecting ‘post’.

“What do you think Althea? Could you get used to walkin’ across here everyday when you retire? ‘Cause I really wanna’ keep you.”

The canine nuzzled his hand affectionately, her tail hitting off the leg of the bench, eliciting a laugh from Bucky.

“You’re a sweetheart.”

He glanced back over at Manhattan, the sky a mix of orange, yellow and subtle hints of pink and purple as the sun set. Bucky tapped his fingers to the music against the denim of his jeans, feeling himself relax further against the bench. He’d been thinking a lot about calling Tony, it seemed like an appropriate time to call him now. Nobody was around to overhear his conversation, most of the people there were simply walking or jogging by, and others were a few benches down from him. _Just, call him_ he said to himself, lolling his head back with a deep exhale, cheeks puffing out slightly.

“Dammit.”

Pulling out his headphones, Bucky shoved them into his jacket pocket, reaching into his other pocket to fidget with his phone. He turned it and flipped it around in his pocket, while his mind worked through pros and cons of calling Tony. Funny thing was, he couldn’t think of any cons, at all, Tony really didn't deserve to be left hanging.

“You can do this Bucky.”  

Suddenly, the Star Wars main theme sounded loudly from his pocket, causing Bucky to jump, almost dropping his phone when he yanked his hand out. He glared down at the phone, his eyes widening when he saw a familiar number on the screen, with his heart rate picking up also. Bucky swallowed down his anxiety, steadying his breathing before swiping his finger over the screen to answer it, holding it close to his ear.

“Hello?”

_“Bucky. Hi, it's Tony.”_

Bucky smiled at the sound of Tony’s voice, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss it, a little. But he was also scolding himself for not working up the courage to call him before he did.

“Tony, hey. I was gonna’ call you. I don’t remember given’ you my number.”

_“I asked Brock for your number.”_

“Of course you did.”

_“Well, I can hang up and you can call me back?”_

The brunette bit back a laugh.

“Sounds a little unconventional to do that just for the sake of me havin’ to call you like I told myself I would.”

_“Listen to you, you eloquent gentleman.”_

“Shaddup, I am not.”

Tony chuckled over the line, which was like music to Bucky’s ears.

_“You alright? You’re breathing heavy.”_

“Oh I-yeah, just when you called my ringtone scared the shit out of me.”

_“Why? What is it?”_

“The Star Wars main theme.”

_“You’re a huge nerd.”_

“Says the one with Star Wars underwear.”

_“Oh you remember those! I’ve got Star Trek ones on today.”_

“Now who’s the nerd huh?”

_“I know, you should see my room. Star Wars bedspread and everything.”_

Bucky’s shoulders shook from a laugh that built itself up, loud and full of life, his body bending forward so he could drop his head into his hand. It’d been too long since he’d last laughed in that way, carefree and unworried.

_“I really love your laugh.”_

Silence fell on both ends of the phone, Bucky’s cheeks flushing a light shade of pink, his eyes glued to his shoes where he noticed an untied shoelace.

_“And that’s definitely not something I was meant to say out loud.”_

“No it’s okay. That was just a little...unexpected.”

On the other end came a soft sigh from Tony.

_“Look, I’m going to be straight with you Bucky.”_

“There’s nothin’ straight about you, from what I can tell.”

_“Oh did I mention I love your cheekiness, honey.”_

Bucky took a plastic box out of the bag sitting beside him, peeling the lid away to reveal freshly bought fruit.

“I don’t think you did.”

_“Well I just did. What was that noise?”_

“A lid. I’m sitting at Brooklyn Heights Promenade, watching the sunset across Manhattan and eating some fruit.”

_“Ah, you’re a Brooklyn boy. Can you see me waving from my desk at Stark Tower? How many fingers am I holding up? Maybe I could dance around? Or should I press my face against the glass and pull a face?”_

The brunette burst into fits of laughter again, clutching the box of fruit so not to knock it over, hearing Tony chuckle along with him. He settled himself down and picked up a blueberry, tossing it into his mouth without even trying, then threw one for Althea too. There was a squeak of a chair, then the shuffle of paper, before what sounded like feet getting propped up on a desk followed. Not even five minutes into their conversation, Bucky was already feeling the happiest he’d ever felt, simply by hearing Tony’s voice.

“Yeah, I can definitely see you in your Tom Ford suit dancin’ around your office.”

_“I’m actually wearing Tom Ford right now.”_

“See! I’m magic!”

_“Amazing. Please teach me your ways.”_

Bucky drew his bottom lip in between his teeth,

“Is it wrong if I wished you were over here to enjoy this sunset?”

There was a pause, then the creak of the chair again.

_“Not at all. Infact, I’m looking at it from my office since I’m not there. It’s beautiful.”_

“Good. I mean-y’know…”

 _God shut up Bucky_ he scolded internally.

_“Bucky, are you sure you’re okay?”_

“It’s...been a rough day.”

Tony hummed.

_“I have to be at a charity dinner in twenty. Don’t suppose that’s your thing?”_

Bucky smiled to himself, ducking his head to cover his face with strands of his hair.

“Rain check? I’ve got plans already that’s all.”

_“A rain check is fine. I can spare a few minutes, I might just keep this suit on anyway or I can be fashionably late.”_

“I like the latter.”

_“Do you?”_

There was a certain flirtatious tone to Tony’s voice, one he’d become accustomed to the previous night, and quite enjoyed.

“I think it’s the best form of lateness.”

_“You’re too charming Bucky Barnes.”_

“So, this is a bit awkward. But I kinda’ didn’t catch on that you were the actual Tony Stark. Brock only told me the party was for somebody named Stark and I’d heard about you, vaguely. But y’know I thought you were only a guy named Tony, it didn't click with me. Didn’t realise it was well... _you._ I'm makin’ no sense.”

_“I’m flattered you only saw me as a guy named Tony and not Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries with a hundred different names in the tabloids.”_

“They mean nothin’ to me.”

_“Humour me.”_

“The media likes havin’ false fodder so they don’t have to do the real work in findin’ out who the real you is. They’d rather make a livin’ out of makin’ people look like idiots, which you’re far from by the way, and use it as a money grabbin’ scheme. Maybe if they took the time to sit down with people and not twist their words around, others wouldn’t believe them. ‘Cause I know you’re not like that.”

_“I-”_

“Tony?”

_“That’s...the nicest thing I’ve ever heard from someone who hardly knows a lot about the real me.”_

“We might not have gotten to know each other in a certain way. But, I’m glad you talked to me last night. I had a lot of fun.”

_“Likewise. I’d say going home and falling into bed with you was the best part of the night. But that was most likely the second best thing.”_

Bucky swallowed down the lump in his throat, switching his phone over to the other hand.

“What was the first?”

_“Meeting you.”_

A blush painted Bucky's cheeks again, slightly pinker than before.

“I loved meetin’ you too.”

He couldn't exactly wrap his head around what it was that was attracting him to Tony. Either way, Tony was making him laugh, smile and even blush, it was like he was back at the party but in a more relaxed atmosphere.

_“You never told me why your day was so rough.”_

“Do you really wanna’ listen to me tell you about how bad I’m feelin’?”

_“Might make you feel better…”_

Bucky handed another blueberry to Althea, before switching his phone back to his other ear, lounging against the bench now.

“Had a pretty bad nightmare and hurt Jack when he tried wakin’ me up.”

_“Oh…”_

“I know it was an accident but I can’t help feelin’ shit about it. It’s never happened before.”

_“Bucky are you-”_

“I’m a veteran Tony.”

The tone he used wasn’t exactly planned, snappy and somewhat unnerved, which made Bucky cup his hands over his eyes and scream internally at himself.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

_“No, it’s alright. Do you want to tell me more?”_

He really would be heading into dangerous territory, opening up old wounds from his past. Being at the promenade to share his life story didn’t exactly feel right to him either.

“I don’t feel comfortable talkin’ about this at the promenade. People around, makes me feel anxious.”

The turning of pages was loud in Bucky’s ears, his brows knitting together while he picked up a slice of peach and placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly. He heard Tony hum and flip over more pages, trying not to disturb him with whatever he was doing. Though, he was greatly curious as to what Tony was doing.

_“My schedule is clear on Wednesday. How about we do lunch?”_

Bucky coughed on another slice of peach he’d picked up.

“Really?”

Tony huffed faintly.

_“What’d you think I left my number for? I like you Bucky. I want to know you, I want to know the story of Bucky Barnes. All I’m asking in return is some good company for lunch.”_

“Suppose you wouldn’t mind tellin’ me a little ‘bout yourself too?”

_“I can do that, for sure.”_

Bucky’s gaze fell on the river again, the lights in Manhattan becoming more prominent as the sky began to darken. He put the lid back on the plastic box and dropped it back into his back, handing Althea a small cube of pear that he didn’t want anymore. Nothing could have prepared him for something like this, to feel cared about by somebody he'd known for one night. But to Bucky it felt like they'd known each other longer.

“Can I be honest with you Tony?”

_“Of course.”_

“I'm happy you called.”

He could mentally picture the smile growing on Tony's face, the smile that had his chest feeling light and warm.

_“I'm happy I called, you caught my attention and that doesn't happen a lot.”_

Bucky's cheeks reddened for the third time that evening.

“You're still a fuckin’ flirt, even more than before.”

Tony laughed heartily, then gasped sharply.

_“Shit, I better go fix myself up for this dinner.”_

“I'm sure you look amazin’ without doin’ anything,”

_“Charmer.”_

The brunette stood up, swinging his backpack snugly over his shoulder, his hand wrapping tightly around Althea’s leash as she walked up to his side. He took one last look at the river, and Manhattan, before looking away and heading for the path that would take him home.

“Tony, can I ask somethin’?”

_“You're adorable when you ask if it's okay to question me with things. But, what can I do for you, again.”_

“Could you stay on the line until I walk home? I ain't far, maybe ten, fifteen minutes away.”

_“I'm within walking distance of the charity dinner, so I can stay on the line. If it makes you feel comfortable.”_

“It would. I don't usually stay at the promenade after dark.”

_“Rebel.”_

“Rebel rebel, you've torn your dress. Rebel rebel, your face is a mess. Rebel rebel, how could they know? Hot tramp, I love you so!”

_“You like David Bowie! And you have a beautiful singing voice by the way.”_

Bucky hummed.

“It's not so bad.”

 _“Get out of here, it’s_ _unique_ _. So what fruit did you have?”_

“Really? You're askin’ me now?”

_“Yeah, need to make small talk while I walk.”_

The sounds of the busy Manhattan streets in the background of Tony's phone were loud, prompting Bucky to hold his phone a few inches away from his ear

“I had plums.”

_“No double entendre there, I hope.”_

“Tony!”

_“What? Should know by now Barnes, I have no filter when I talk.”_

“I figured. I also had peach, raspberries, blueberries-”

_“...blueberries are my favourite.”_

Bucky grinned widely.

“I'll keep that in mind.”

_“I hope so, guapo.”_

It took Bucky half an hour to get back home that night.

* * *

Wednesday couldn't have come any sooner. They’d decided to have lunch at a diner that was a couple of streets down from Stark Tower, one that was Bucky’s favourite. He knew it was a quiet place, which was where he preferred to be most of the time, anything highly busy would unsettle him. Tony was understanding about it, yet he himself would much rather the first option over the second.

“I’m out, meetin’ up with Tony for lunch.”

Bucky made a face as he held his phone to his ear, distracting himself from it for a moment to cross a road, pushing down the cap on his head. He had Brock on the phone asking him why he’d left so abruptly after a jog around the block and a shower.

“I fuckin’ told you I was goin’ out.”

_“When!”_

“Last night you big dummy.”

_“I can’t remember that. Wait, was I drinkin’?”_

“You had a full bottle of white wine.”

_“That was a gift from my nonna, was meant to save it.”_

“You’re a lightweight.”

He held his phone away from his ear, laughing at the string of curses in Italian that Brock fired at him.

“Listen, I’m here, I gotta’ go.”

_“Let me know when you’re comin’ home. We’ve got dinner at Sam and Steve’s tonight, the whole gang is meeting up. Invite Tony if you want.”_

“You just wanna’ grill him with questions.”

_“...I care about you, but I’m not a dad that wants to know what his kid’s boyfriend or girlfriend’s intentions are.”_

“I’m kiddin’ with ya’ Rummy. Okay, I really need to go now.”

_“Alright. Ciao bello.”_

“Ciao.”

Bucky hung up and put his phone into his pocket, turning around to face the front entrance of Stark Tower. His eyes followed the length of the towering building, grinning when he saw _STARK_ across the edge of the highest part, recalling how he saw it illuminated when he was at the promenade in Brooklyn. He took his phone back out, bringing up the camera to snap a picture of himself, with the tower in the background, smiling happily.

“Perfect.”

He brought up his texts, opening a new message for Tony as he attached the photo with a caption, before clicking _‘send’._

**Bucky**

**11:50am:**

_I'm here!_

Waiting only a few minutes, he received a reply from Tony, sputtering out a laugh at the picture he'd sent. It was mostly a blur, but he could make out some features on Tony's face and the outline of a suit jacket in his hand.

**Tony**

**11:55am:**

_I'll be right there, I'm running!_

Looking back at the doors, several people filed out, obviously on a lunch break, still dressed in freshly pressed suits. Bucky shifted his weight from one foot to the other, playing with a strap on his backpack, lips pressed into a thin line from chewing down on them, feeling marginally nervous. He saw more movement behind the doors, exhaling breathlessly when he saw Tony step outside with as much swagger as a famous model.

“ _Fuck,”_ he breathed.

Bucky may have been staring, but why the hell not? Tony made grey suits work and Bucky wished he could look that great in a suit. Though, he hadn’t worn a suit since prom due to a lack of self confidence with anything to do with formal attire. Casual wear was more to his taste, things that could cover up his prosthetic when in public. The only reason he didn’t cover his arm at the party was knowing that people would likely think it was part of his costume. It worked in his favour.

“Hey you!”

The brunette tilted his head up to see Tony waving at him, his other hand tucked into his pocket, a different pair of sunglasses sitting over his eyes. He pushed them up into his hair upon approaching Bucky, smiling so brightly it worked all the way up to the laugh lines on his eyes. Bucky smiled lopsidedly in return, the nervousness washing away when he stared at Tony’s eyes that were a honey colour in the light, compared to the sultry dark colour.

“Hi.”

Tony’s hand fell on Bucky’s waist as he leant forward, kissing him lightly on the cheek and pulling back, making Bucky’s heart flutter in his chest at the simple gesture, which he didn’t expect.

“How are you?” he asked, stroking his hand up and down Bucky’s side.

“I’m feelin’ good today, you?” Bucky replied.

Tony tilted his head a little.

“Better now that you’re here.”

“Tony…” the brunette chuckled, ducking his head.

“What? Too cheesy?” Tony questioned.

Bucky shook his head and brought his head back up to look at Tony.

“No, but really sweet.”

“Well thank you,” he chimed, stepping away and dropping his hand to his side. “C’mon, I’m starving, I bet you are too,” he added.

“Yeah…”

The sudden loss of warmth from Tony shouldn’t have upset him as much as it did just now. But he’d been without any romantic or intimate contact for a long time, he’d almost forgotten how fantastic it felt. He thought he’d never feel that connection with someone ever again after returning home. Yet, there was Tony...staring at him with stunning, doe eyes and a gracious smile on his face.

“You alright Bucky? You’re staring.”

“I-” Bucky faltered. “...sorry, you look great that’s all, really great,” he complimented, sidling up to Tony while they walked.

“This? It’s just a plain business suit.”

“I know, but you make grey work,” he said.

“Aww, so sweet. You don’t do so bad on the casual front. Reminds me of me when I finally get home at night. You do look as if it’s freezing outside though, it’s not too cold today,” Tony commented.

Bucky’s cheeks flushed.

“It’s only a shirt, a Henley and a jacket.”

Tony cocked one of his eyebrows.

“And jeans and gloves.”

“The cap too, you're bundled up like you're incognito,” the brunette stated.

“It's mostly bad self esteem fighting with me and winning. When I'm out I cover my arm up, sometimes I won't have the gloves, so my hand while be showing. I don't know what it is but two shirts and a jacket make me feel-” Bucky paused.

“Secure?” Tony interjected.

“Yes. All this long clothing helps me step out the door in the mornin’. Plus when I don't have my therapy dog with me it helps out too. I wouldn't be wearing my cap, or two shirts,” he explained.

Tony frowned with a nod.

“You don't bring your dog everywhere?”

Bucky shook his head slowly.

“No, my therapist thinks it’s allowing me to face hurdles and jump over them when Althea’s not with me. It works, I've assisted myself through an anxiety attack, once, and picked myself back up from it.”

“Pretty name for your dog,” Tony hummed.

“It means _to heal_ or _with healing power,_ in Greek.”

“That's fitting. Also I'm glad you're working through it. You deserve to heal, but do it at your own pace,” he mused.

The touch of Tony's fingers on his cheek had Bucky's eyes darting over to him, before looking down. Tony's hand was held out to him, palm up, as if inviting Bucky to take it. _Who the hell was he kidding?_ That was exactly what Tony wanted. However, the fact that Tony was on his left side, already had Bucky feeling anxious, as he wasn't big on holding hands with the left one, much. It also seemed like he was communicating with Tony without speaking.

_Maybe I should…_

_No._

Bucky brought his hand out to Tony's, holding his breath as Tony clasped his hand, hooking his thumb over Bucky's to hold their hands in place. He could feel the weight of Tony's hand, strong in grip, but comforting. So he let go from holding his breath, glancing up to meet Tony's gaze, skimming past his lips first, then settling on his eyes.

“Don't panic about it around me, I won't bring you down for it. It's part of you.”

His hand tenderly squeezed Tony's.

“Thank you.”

Tony's fingers feathered out against the metal plates, tracing out the grooves, but keeping his eyes focused up ahead.

“Not worried that paparazzi might see you out with some guy who looks like a backpacker?” Bucky spoke up.

“I see it all the time, businessmen meeting their boyfriends, girlfriends or partners for lunch who are dressed casually. For once, I don't give a shit. Somebody taught me not to give a shit,” Tony answered.

Bucky could fucking kiss him, but refrained from doing so.

“What's that make us then?”

Tony pursed his lips.

“I'd say we’re both interested in each other, we’re getting to know each other over lunch. So...we’re seeing each other, in a way.”

“There's a possibility you wanna’ take this further?” Bucky queried.

“I think we went far on Friday night,” Tony teased.

The brunette swatted Tony on the arm.

“Think you're funny huh? I'll be honest, I'm attracted to you. Wherever this goes after today, I'll be open to either outcome.”

Tony leant into Bucky.

“See, this is what drew me to you in the first place. You’re equal with positives and negatives. I mean, it’s shit if it went to the negative side of things, but I admire somebody who will take either.”

“That's just life,” he murmured, with a shrug.

“Hey,” Tony soothed, tugging Bucky's arm gently. “We’re here,” he said.

Bucky looked ahead, seeing the diner sitting on the corner of the street, with a few patrons sitting outside and about four or five inside. It was quiet enough for Bucky, but he was sure having Tony there would deter him from even noticing how busy might become. Beside him, Tony let out a small _‘huh’,_ then grinned.

“I know this place. Sometimes I get a burger on the go from here.”

He earned a laugh from Bucky.

“Oh, jeez, have you met Wade?”

Tony shook his head.

“I actually haven’t. He’s never there, I’ve only met Peter. Been meaning to talk to him actually.”

“Wade’s always there when I go in. Maybe you’re in luck, usually they’re both workin’ on a Wednesday,” Bucky issued.

“Lead the way,” Tony replied, gesturing with his hand for Bucky to go in front of him.

They passed through a red tinted glass door, left open to let out some of the hot air already inside the diner. Heavy, alternative rock played from speakers up on the wall behind the counter, though not at an earsplitting level to still give it a welcoming atmosphere. Bucky smiled and dropped Tony's hand after giving it a squeeze, sauntering over to a man hunched over some orders and a menu, while Tony glanced up at a board with some specials on it.

_“Lovecake! There you are!”_

Tony glanced over at Bucky, watching as he was embraced by the man, who he figured was Wade, noting how outgoing he appeared to be.

_“Mr Stark?”_

His head whipped back to meet a familiar face, a friendly smile stretching across his face at the sight of Peter.

“I'm glad you're here kid.”

“Really? I mean-uh...why?” Peter inquired.

“Swing by Stark Industries tomorrow, your little gadget prototype really caught my eye. I want to talk about it with you, maybe invest in it, with you in charge of course.”

Peter’s eyes widened.

“Holy shit! Seriously, thank you! I won't let you down Mr Stark!”

“Peter, please call me Tony. Now, take a deep breath, alright? You’ll be fine,” Tony assured him.

“Hey buddy, you trying to steal my sweetums away from work?” Wade accused, sarcastically.

“I'm not sure sweetums Wade!” Peter hissed.

Bucky snorted.

“Wade, this is Tony Stark, Tony, this is Wade Wilson, owner of the diner, obviously, and one of my friends.”

Wade smirked.

“I knew I recognised him from somewhere. How'd you two meet?”

“Party,” Tony admitted.

“ _Uh-huh,_ did you hook up afterwards?”

“Wade,” Bucky groaned, slapping his hand over his eyes.

Tony clucked his tongue on the roof of his mouth.

“We did. It's not anyone's business to know what happened though.”

“Oo, he's feisty. I like him already. It's okay honeybunny, secrets safe with me,” Wade said.

“That's stickin’ with you forever now,” Bucky snickered, nudging Tony with his elbow.

“I think I can suffer it.”

Wade gasped.

“I'd never make you suffer. Anyway, you two take a seat and we’ll come grab your order. Do you want some coffee to start?”

Bucky nodded.

“Please, that'd be great.”

He made his way over to a booth in a corner of the diner, his favourite place to sit whenever he visited. Tony was not too far behind him, eyeing Bucky as the brunette took his gloves and cap off, then shrugged his backpack and jacket off too, placing them down on the seat. His gaze roamed, taking in how snug the Henley was on Bucky, swallowing thickly before looking away.

“Were you checkin’ me out?” Bucky drawled.

“Sorry, just that Henley fits you snugly. Why doesn't Wade call you beefcake instead of lovecake?” Tony responded.

The brunette silenced his laugh behind his hand.

“He calls me lovecake ‘cause I've got more muscle on me for him to love. Never used to have this much. I started workin’ out again, this year, so it's all comin’ back.”

Tony’s eyes widened a fraction.

“Oh.”

“C’mon, you wanna’ sit?”  Bucky offered, sitting on the leather seat and sliding closer to the window.

“Do you want me to sit beside you, or across from you?”

“What kinda’ question is that? I'd feel a lot more comfortable with you beside me,” he huffed.

Bucky placed his elbow up on the table, hiding his smile behind his hand, leaving his eyes to do all the talking, staring back expectantly at Tony. His smile grew when Tony pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders, letting it slide down his arms before he swung it over the back of the seat.

“Now who’s checking me out,” he taunted.

Bucky’s eyebrows flicked up in a flirtatious way.

“Me.”

“Smartass,” Tony quipped, sitting down to join Bucky.

“You love it.”

Tony scooted closer, slinging his arm around Bucky’s shoulder and leaning into him.

“Can I kiss you?”

Bucky couldn’t hold back his laughter bubbling inside him.

“That’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard you ask. You don’t need to ask-”

He was cut off by the chaste kiss Tony planted on his lips, feeling his jaw being cupped by Tony’s hand.

“...to.” he finished, opening his eyes halfway.

“I always seem to surprise you don’t I?” Tony asked, running the tips of his fingers over the stubble on Bucky’s face.

“Sometimes,” Bucky whispered.

“Hey lovebirds, here’s your coffee. No tonsil hockey in here you might scare my customers!” Wade exclaimed.

Bucky scrunched up his face.

“Wade, c’mon man, you don’t need to say _tonsil hockey._ He was just given me a quick kiss on the lips.”

“Which usually leads to some footsies, or handsies under the table,” he sang, while wagging his finger at the pair.

“Quit it. Can we order now?”

Wade shook his head and pulled out a notepad.

“What’ll you have lovecake?”

“I think I’ll try that steak sandwich you want me to try, fries on the side. I’ll just have some of that berry juice Peter makes too,” Bucky said.

“And for you, honeybunny?”

Tony shifted his gaze back to the board behind the counter.

“I’ll try Wade’s famous burger special. The berry juice sounds great too, I’ll have that thanks.”

“See, Bucky, somebody wants to try my famous burger,” Wade chided.

“I said one day! Today isn't that day.” the brunette grumbled.

Reaching out for the coffee on the tray, Bucky plucked two packets of sugar from the box in the middle of the table, often wanting his coffee sweetened rather than bitter. His nose scrunched at the smell hitting his nostrils, as he feared the packets open and poured the sugar inside. Bucky picked up one of the spoons on the tray, dunking it into the mug with a ‘clink’ on the rim of it. He sucked in a shaky breath when his right hand trembled while he tried to stir the sugar into his coffee, feeling the frustration get the better of him.

“Shit,” he cursed, letting the spoon hit the edge again. “Fuckin’ dammit,” he groaned, dropping his head against the palm of his hand.

Tony's heart dropped at the look crossing Bucky's features, eyes wet as he fought back tears, his chest rising and falling a little abnormally, trying to look anywhere but at Tony or the coffee. The cracks were showing, scaling all over his skin like a porcelain statue that hadn't been properly cared for or truly loved in years.

“Do you need some help?”

Bucky chewed on the inside of his cheek and nodded.

“Please.”

His voice cracked when he spoke, which urged Tony to take Bucky's hand in his, still feeling the tremors now and again. He used his free hand to stir Bucky's coffee, rubbing small circles on top of the brunette's hand, refusing to utter another word until Bucky himself felt like speaking. Tony kept his gaze settled on him, watching his face soften and his chest start to fall at a normal rate, relief washing over him. Bucky gripped his hand tighter, turning his head sideways to look at Tony.

“Thanks.”

Having to watch Bucky try and smile... _ached._ Tony saw emotional pain on people every so often, it never got easier, yet he felt it never would. Bucky seemed like he deserved the world, the fact that he was struggling, in more ways than one, Tony could tell...it got him _right_ where it hurt.

“Do you always get those?”

“The tremors?” Bucky murmured. “Yeah, not all the time though,” he added.

Tony cleared his throat nervously.

“I um-” he started. “I've been thinking of how to ask you about your story. I guess I'm nervous to ask because I don't want to pressure you. It'd just be good to finally know _you,_ and you don't need to tell me everything.”

Bucky exhaled a deep sigh.

“Can I show you somethin’ first?”

“Absolutely,” Tony replied, letting go of Bucky's hand.

He saw Bucky grab  his backpack, placing it between them before opening up the front zip, pulling out a medium sized book and a red gift bag. Tony blinked in surprise when Bucky sat them down in front of him, a shy smile on his face.

“Happy belated birthday,” he crooned, kissing Tony on the cheek.

“Bucky, you didn’t have to get me anything. Spending time with you was good enough a gift as any. My gosh, what other good things are you hiding from me about yourself,” the brunette gushed.

Bucky chuckled.

“It’s not about havin’ to get somebody somethin’ Tony, it’s about wanting to. I’m a giver, I like showering people with gifts when I can.”

Tony sighed with a grin, facing Bucky as he cupped his face again and kissed him, deeper than the last time, making sure Bucky knew how much he appreciated his thoughtfulness.

“Hey I said no tonsil hockey!”

“Eat my ass Wade!” Bucky shouted, parting from the kiss, only to clap his hand over his mouth.

“I’ll do more than that and you know it!”

Tony’s eyes were wide, while trying to stifle a laugh at the mortified expression on Bucky’s face, until he let go and laughed loudly, leaning back in the seat to cover his face. Bucky glanced around the diner, but thankfully nobody had heard his outburst. He quickly lifted his coffee up from the table, taking a long sip and trying not to break into fits of laughter along with Tony.

“Sorry, I’m not usually this foul mouthed.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Tony rebuked.

He poked his tongue out at Bucky when he jabbed him on the cheek with his finger.

“You’re a sarcastic ass, I like it.”

“Not the only thing you liked,” he crowed, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Get out of my booth!” Bucky yelled, bumping his shoulder against Tony’s.

“Can I open my gifts?”

Bucky stared at him, a deadpan look crossing his face.

“I swear, if you keep askin’ questions that have an obvious answer, I’ll steal those sunglasses you’re wearin’ now.”

Tony swung the sunglasses in front of Bucky’s face.

“You can take them.”

“You’re crazy, you already left me a pair,” Bucky drawled.

“I have a lot of sunglasses, most are doubles. Atleast try them on.”

The brunette pouted and slid the sunglasses over his eyes.

“How do I look?” he questioned, angling his head to the right.

“Like a superstar,” Tony answered.

Bucky scoffed, handing the sunglasses back to Tony.

“I wish.”

Picking up his phone, Bucky brought up his camera and turned his back towards Tony, holding his phone at arm's length.

“Smile you big dork.”

Tony pinched Bucky’s cheek while they took the photo, drawing out a laugh from him as the shutter clicked, switching to the photo straight after. Both of them looked at the screen displaying Bucky’s screwed up, laughing face and Tony’s broad, devilish grin from pinching Bucky. The brunette posted it with a small caption underneath, only to have his phone taken from him by Tony, who edited the caption then pushed the phone back over. Bucky couldn’t help but blush at it.

**_VanillaIce: Lunch date with the hottie with a goatee @TonyStank_ **

“Tony Stank?”

“That’s how my name was spelt on a package once. My best friend, Rhodey, he won’t let it go so he’s resorted to calling me that whenever he feels like it,” Tony chortled, licking a droplet of coffee off his thumb.

“Ah...so Mr Stank.”

“Don’t you start!” he groused, poking Bucky in the ribs. “I should really open my gifts now,” he added.

His fingers skimmed over the book then moved to the edge of the front cover, flipping it open to a message on the first page.

**_Happy 35th Birthday Tony_ **

“How'd you find out how old I was?”

“The internet where there’s a bio of most successful businessmen, obviously,” Bucky snarked.

“Yeah? So will I find your birth date on there for anything?”

“No, but March 10th 1987 is my birth date, in case you're interested,” he informed.

“You're twenty nine?” Tony uttered, having already done the math quickly in his head.

Bucky frowned.

“That a problem?”

“That's ridiculous, I thought you were younger, like twenty five,” he said.

“You make me feel _so_ young.”

Tony laughed at the sarcasm in Bucky’s tone, turning his attention back to the book. He flicked through several drawings, the corner of his mouth curving up when he recognised who they were of.

“Did you draw these?”

“Yeah, it’s kinda’ a gift from everybody who we both seem to know since I saw them all there. I asked them to write a message beside it for you. Except the last three drawings, ‘cause I saw you talkin’ to them but I wasn’t sure who they were to you,” Bucky explained.

“Well, the two dressed in a seventies get up is my best friend Rhodey and his fiancee Carol. The burlesque dancer is Pepper, we dated in high school but she’s still one of my best friends now. These are amazing, how did you draw them all, from pictures?”

“From memory,” he said.

“Are you serious?” Tony gasped. “How did you remember all of their costumes and faces?” he queried.

Tony got a sheepish shrug from Bucky.

“I developed a pretty good photographic memory ever since I started sketching.”

“Here we go! Steak sandwich, Wade’s famous burger with some extra fries since Tony here is my new favourite,” Wade interjected, sliding the plates over to the pair.

“I am your best customer!” Bucky protested.

Wade winked back at him.

“Not today.”

“Asshole,” the brunette grumbled.

“You know it baby, enjoy your meals.”

After Wade walked away from the table to attend to other customers, Tony and Bucky dug into their meals, both contently moaning between mouthfuls from the delicious flavours. Tony cut a piece of his burger off from the rest, placing it on Bucky’s plate because there was no way in hell he was not letting him try it out.

“So did Brock leave that lipstick mark on the page?”

Bucky chuckled.

“He did, he’s an affectionate person if he likes you,” he issued, stealing a glance at Tony.

“So, don’t get on his bad side then?”

The brunette covered his mouth to chew his food before speaking again.

“People don’t want to get on Jack’s bad side either, he’s quiet, but if you hurt anyone he cares about you’ll know. Most of my friends are like that, but that’s what good friends do, they look after each other. I always wanna’ look after them too.”

“That’s very true,” Tony agreed, putting his burger down to open the red bag that Bucky gave him along with the book. “I really love the drawings by the way, they’re beautiful, you’re talented Bucky, should be making a career out of it,” he added.

“One day. I need to find my place back in society first. I arrived back in Brooklyn two years ago, after bein’ discharged. And it’ll be my third year back next month. Although I’ve made a lot of progress, I still don’t feel right some days. First two years back were hell.”

Tony rested his hand on Bucky’s.

“I’ll look at these gifts and then you can tell me everything that you want me to know.”

He sat the bag in between himself and Bucky, peering inside and letting out an excited chuckle like a kid getting new toys at Christmas.

“You're unleashing my inner geek here.”

Reaching inside he pulled out a mug and shot glasses with Star Trek themes on them. Tony grinned as he pulled out something soft, grabbing it at the shoulders to reveal a jacket.

“A Star Trek varsity jacket! Bucky, really, you shouldn't have,” he sighed, holding it to his chest.

“If you're worryin’ about how much it cost me, I got paid yesterday and I got a good deal for all of it,” Bucky said.

Tony's eyes lit up when he took out Star Wars themed cuff links.

“You're too good to me. The stormtrooper bow tie and Darth Vader tie is cute too.”

“I thought of the most basic gifts, as long as they had somethin’ you liked on them. There's candles in there too from this store that's ten minutes away from my place. I kinda’ noticed you lookin’ at the ones in my room, they're all scented and great for stress. And there's three books in there that I read recently, I dunno’ if you're a reader, but I thought you might like copies. They're really good books I promise you.” the brunette rambled.

“What genre are they?” Tony questioned, neatly packing everything back into the bag.

Bucky preened at Tony's interest in the book choices.

“There's crime, fantasy and a-uh...erotica one.”

“Oh Bucky Barnes, what will I do with you,” Tony whispered, giving Bucky's thigh a tender squeeze.

A breathy moan slipped past Bucky's lips, eyelids dipping low while his heart rate picked up.

“You realise where we are right?”

Tony brought his face closer to Bucky's, chastely kissing him, before parting his lips and initiating a slow, sensual kiss that has the hairs on the back of Bucky's neck standing up.

“Thank you for the gifts, I'm sure the erotica book will give me lots of dirty fantasies, about you.”

“Fuckin’ tease,” Bucky rasped, pushing Tony away.

“It's something you like though.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow and shoved two fries into his mouth.

“Maybe.”

“You put it so bluntly,” Tony rebuked.

“I'll leave it to your imagination.”

Tony’s hand swiped a strand of Bucky’s hair away from his face, caressing his thumb across his cheekbone. Bucky lifted his hand gingerly, placing it over Tony’s so that the brunette’s hand stayed right against his cheek.

“Where would you like me to start with my life story? When I was a kid? High school? The army?” he quizzed.

Tony moved his hand down to Bucky’s back, slowly running it up and down his back as a sense of comfort.

“Wherever you want. Tell me as much as you want me to know. Don’t force yourself either. If you want to stop then tell me.”

A brief silence fell over the pair, until Bucky rummaged in his jacket pockets for his wallet. He placed several photos face down on the table, before turning back, keeping his eyes on Tony, who appeared curious to know what or who the photos were of. Bucky cleared his throat and flipped one photo over to reveal a picture of a baby, straight away Tony could tell it was Bucky, a smile breaking out across his face.

“Adorable.”

Bucky felt a blush form on his cheeks.

“I was born and raised in Brooklyn, but we travelled a lot for family holidays. I've been to London, Vienna, Edinburgh, Oslo, Bucharest, Tokyo and Madrid...just to name a few.”

He revealed other photos of family travels at famous landmarks, then pictures of an older man and woman.

“My mom and dad. Mom is a wedding planner and a dressmaker, my dad is a science lecturer at a college. They actually met in Greece, my dad was staying in the same resort as my mom. He's clumsy and locked himself outside his room and my mom and her friends thought it was really funny but they invited him to their room. After that it was just an instant connection and my parents started seeing each other when they came home to Brooklyn. They married each other three years later, then I happened.”

“Your mom is beautiful, you look more like her. But your dad isn't so bad either, you do have his eyes,” Tony said.

“Noted, I'll remember and tell him,” Bucky laughed.

“He’ll be flattered!” he snickered.

The brunette grinned while peeking at the photos to figure out which was up next.

“Ah, this is a picture of Steve and I, when we were kids. Steve was a scrawny little punk, with fight in him. We did everything together, even when Steve was sick I'd go to his house and we'd watch TV. He's been like a brother since we met. But...we did go to different high schools, that was tough ‘cause we lost contact.”

Tony looked over at the photos staring back at him.

“What happened?”

“So, I met Brock, in tenth grade,” Bucky answered.

“Oh god, it wasn't a cliche high school meeting you see in the movies, was it?”

He could see Bucky holding back a laugh, his bottom lip held in by his teeth.

“No, it wasn't. All he did was introduce himself ‘cause we had a class together. Then he offered me rides home, he didn't fit into any group at school, I didn't either. We both weren't interested in that, we'd go to the library to study and play basketball together after school. It was great just to chill out.”

Tony pouted.

“Lucky, because Pepper accidentally smacked me in the face with her locker door when we first met.”

Bucky snorted.

“Sorry. That must have been a great first impression” he teased.

“We laughed about it and then started talking more then I asked her on a date.”

“Aww,” Bucky cooed.

“Stop,” Tony huffed out, pinching Bucky's arm lightly. “Tell me more,” he added.

“At the beginning of eleventh grade Brock and I started dating. I met Wanda and Pietro then too. We dated through to twelfth grade, and went to homecoming together.”

Bucky's thumb flicked over a picture of himself and Brock in suits, and another where Bucky stood in a narrow, residential street.

“Then after we graduated we went to Italy, I met his parents, his nonna and the rest of his huge family. We travelled around there for two months before coming home. Just a year after graduating things weren't workin’ out, so we broke up, mutually, but we still lived with my parents and we've kept a friendship since then. That was when the army happened a couple of years later.”

His hand hovered over a picture, those ones were the hardest to turn over. But he did, carefully, the corners of it worn from a little water damage like the others.

“This was during boot camp. It's our unit, and it's where we met Jack, he's in the top right, Brock's at the bottom left and I'm standing in the middle,” he explained.

Tony scanned his eyes over it, spying Bucky standing in full uniform, right in the middle of the squad.

“Anybody in this unit you lost?”

“Our lieutenant. The two soldiers on either side of me, one died on active duty, the other one took his own life last year,” Bucky continued, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

“I'm sorry…”

“They were brave men. We also lost the soldier standing in front of Jack, he succumbed to injuries and the three in the middle kneeling down, one of them passed away from illness. Of course it was hard to know some of your fellow soldiers lost their lives, we had to keep goin’ with our service though. Jack and Brock got along well at boot camp and I kinda’ sensed somethin’ more between them. I'm happy they're still here for each other. But the three of us were like peas in a pod. It got fuckin’ cold there some nights, we used to huddle together,” he added.

“How long did you serve for?” Tony asked.

Bucky tensed slightly.

“Four years, in Afghanistan. We were nearin’ our end of service when-”

Memories suddenly flooded his mind and vision, dragging him out of reality and back to Afghanistan.

_Sweat dripped down Bucky's face as he trekked across dusty plains, lugging weight on his entire body from heavy gear. Jack was ahead of him, beside the lieutenant of their unit, Brock not too far behind. Other soldiers were surrounding them, guarding while they searched an abandoned area, some distance from their base camp._

_“Doin’ okay there kiddo?”_

“Bucky, hey. Deep breaths.”

Bringing himself back from his flashback, Bucky noticed the concern on Tony's face, his body now closer to Bucky's.

“Sorry I just...I had a flashback about it. Brock was askin’ me if I was doin’ okay. It was hot that day, so damn hot. We were searchin’ an area to see if it was stable to use for defense and protection. I was movin’ when the attack happened.”

_“I'm okay, it's the heat.”_

_“Gotta’ keep goin’ Bucky. This is what we enlisted for.”_

_Bucky glanced over at Jack, exchanging words with the lieutenant, his gaze occasionally switching to stare back at him._

_“What's Jack doin’?”_

_Brock crouched down beside him._

_“Probably discussing the next move.”_

Bucky's heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

“...it happened so damn quick.”

“Bucky you don't need to tell me anymore,” Tony spoke, his voice droning inside Bucky's head.

_Moving to the left, Bucky heard a loud clunk near him, his eyes darting to an object inches away from him. He scrambled to shove Brock out of the way, yelling to other soldiers to fall back._

_“IED! Fall back!”_

_The bomb detonated shortly after._

“All I remember was pain...” Bucky whispered.

_Smoke filled his lungs, blurred his vision and burned his throat. Loud ringing in his ears wouldn't stop, until he heard fire licking at some structures around them. He found himself, on his back, staring up at the sky where the smoke billowed over him, faint cries of agony sounding out around him. The searing pain up his left side got worse and worse, Bucky feared to look, but did anyway. He couldn't feel his arm, from where his elbow down, there was nothing, only exposed bone and muscle tissue. Blood seeped into the ground from his arm, his left leg, as well as his face where he'd hit a rock._

“I was so numb I couldn't yell at the pain, even though it was there, my body was in shock.”

_Turning his head to the left, Brock lay motionless in the sand, with blood trailing down from his hairline. To his right Jack also lay motionless, their lieutenant leaning against a wall with multiple gunshot wounds, his head hanging limply._

Bucky closed his eyes, putting his hand on his mouth with a shaky hand, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes as he choked back a sob. Tony's arm snaked tighter around his waist, his free hand rubbing Bucky's arm to soothe him, blinking his own tears away.

“I didn't know who was alive, but seein’ two of my best friends not movin’ at all made me panic. Then I kept thinkin’ about what'd happen next. Was I gonna’ bleed out there? Would my family get told that I didn't make it? I thought ‘bout my mom, dad, Wanda, Pietro, other friends, Steve and his mom ‘cause she treated me like a son too.”

“Oh Bucky…”

“Then, I'm not sure how much time passed but there was more shouting, more gunfire, but it wasn't from the enemy. I heard somebody run over to me, couldn't make anythin’ out around me, my eyes were blurred with tears and dust. But he helped me up, he called out to somebody tellin’ them he found someone alive, and he told me-”

_“It's gonna’ be alright. I've got you.”_

Tony's lip trembled as he wiped his eyes, still consoling Bucky as much as he could.

“I kept askin’ him to make sure he found other survivors. Other soldiers I hadn't seen before ran in, guns at the ready, they weren't from our camp. Didn't give a shit about myself, I just wanted my friends to be alive. Even when I was gettin’ attended too I kept askin’ again and again. I saw them bringing Brock and Jack out of danger too. One of the medics said that t-they were b-barely a-alive,” Bucky stuttered, burying his face in his hands.

Sobs wracked his body, robbing his ability to speak, barely able to take a breath without it sounding punched out and watery. Retelling the story never got easier, not even with appointments to see his therapist. Whenever the attack was spoken about, Bucky always found himself losing his composure and crying. Doubled up with the nightmares, there were many times where Bucky’s thoughts would lead him to considering taking more pills than needed mixed with vodka. Which was why Althea became his saving grace when a therapy dog was suggested to him.

Bucky twisted around to lean into Tony, immediately being welcomed by open arms that encased him with compassion and care. Tears still trailed down his cheeks, as he muffled the hiccups and hitched intakes of air against Tony's shirt. One of Tony's hands came to rest on the back of his head, smoothing down his hair and shushing him under his breath. Bucky's grip tightened on Tony, his eyes screwed shut while he sniffled, reaching up to brush the palm of his hand on his cheeks, nestling himself closer to Tony. It mattered a lot to him having Tony there, it'd been awhile since he'd met somebody new who would listen and be patient with him.

“We lost too many great men…”

“That must've been hard,” Tony responded, clearing his throat from the choked up feeling.

“Most of them had families. Our lieutenant had two kids and a partner. I saw them at the funeral, there were so many I went to, so I could pay my respects. This was after I was cleared to go home after recovering from my injuries.”

Tony pulled away, wiping stray tears from Bucky's eyes.

“Is that how you ended up with a prosthetic?”

“From my elbow down I had nothin’ there. But my upper arm was badly damaged too, I had to get the rest of my arm amputated and when I arrived home I saw people about gettin’ a prosthetic. My leg had to heal from shrapnel wounds too, some soreness in my chest too from the impact,” Bucky intoned.

“And Brock got flash burns?”

Bucky frowned.

“That night we spent together after the party and he came upstairs because we were in some trouble. You had the door open so I could see him and he was only in his towel, I saw all the scarring on his back, chest and some on his arms. Sorry,” the brunette apologised.

“His burns were worse when he was in the hospital. He got a lot of skin grafts, there's still some scarring under his eyes, they won't go away but he's not phased by those, it's more his back and arms that do. There's scars from shrapnel too. And he had internal injuries. Jack had broken ribs, he's blind in his left eye now and there's a scar on his jaw. He also had a head injury.”

He exhaled heavily, grabbing a napkin to wipe his running nose.

“I count us lucky to be alive. And I wish-”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Tony soothed.

“...I wish I knew who it was that put their life on the line to help us.”

Tony held both of Bucky's hands in his.

“Takes a lot of strength for you to work through this, Bucky.”

“I live with two people who've supported me these past few years, made new friends who put light into my life, I've got a therapy dog who has become my best friend...and now I've met you. There's always somethin’ or someone that will keep me goin’,” he admitted.

“Do you want to go home?”

The brunette nodded, but then looked back at his food.

“It'd be better if I went home, but I'm gonna’ waste my food.”

“I'll see if I can get takeout boxes to put them in and cups for the drinks. And I'm paying for lunch too,” Tony offered.

“I can't let you do that, it's too much.”

“Bucky, I could buy our lunch twenty times over and it still wouldn't burn a hole in my wallet. I don’t want you to feel like I’m treating you as a charity case, I just want you to have the money you earned, saved, so it can keep a roof over your head and your electricity going. I've met veterans before who've struggled when they returned home. Please let me handle the bill,” he pleaded.

They exchanged several different looks between each other, before Bucky’s shoulders slumped, accepting the fact that he couldn’t go further with his argument.

“Okay,” Bucky sighed, “Thank you,” he said, shortly after.

Tony smiled as he walked over to the counter, fishing his wallet out of his pocket and dropping a few dollars in the tip jar. Peter appeared by the register, looking between Tony and then Bucky, a small flicker of confusion crossing his face.

“Hey kid. Can we get some takeout boxes and cups to put our lunch in? And how much was it altogether?”

“Oh. Is everything okay with Bucky? He doesn't look so good. I'll bring the bill up for you,” Peter replied.

“He’s not feeling so great after telling me some personal things, so he's going home. Everything will be fine.”

Peter crouched down to look under the counter for boxes, standing back up with two plastic bottles in his hands.

“We don't have cups, we won't get our stock in until later. Are these okay for the drinks?”

“They're fine. I've left a tip in the jar too,” Tony pointed out.

“That's a jar for a charity that we collect money for. Everyone thinks it's a tip jar anyway.”

“Well that makes it ten times better, it's a good cause,” he praised.

“Thanks. I'll make sure I'm on time at Stark Industries tomorrow,” Peter chimed.

Tony opened his wallet again, taking out money for their food, sliding it over to Peter in exchange for the boxes and bottles.

“Hey, even if you're running late, let me know. I can push back a few meetings. See you tomorrow.”

Turning away from the counter, Tony saw Bucky shrugging his jacket back on, his backpack sitting beside Tony's suit jacket and the red bag with his gifts in them. He sauntered back over to the table, placing the boxes and bottles down, before making quick work in moving the food from the plates. Bucky took the bottles and started filling them with the berry drinks they'd ordered, a sullen look etched on his face.

“I ruined lunch…”

“Don’t,” Tony scolded, sternly.

“I'm sorry, I really am.”

“Bucky for god's sake,” he muttered, kissing the brunette on the cheek. “You didn't ruin anything. I'm not annoyed, at all. I want you to not feel pressured to be somewhere if you can't do it. I get it, honey,” he added.

“I dunno’ why the hell gettin’ called pet names by you makes me feel better,” Bucky hummed, hiding his blush behind his hair.

Tony snickered and put his arm around Bucky's shoulder.

“Muffin, boobear, jellybean. What about Binky, should I call you Binky? Binky Barnes.”

Bucky scoffed, booping Tony on the tip of his nose.

“Stop it, or I'll start doin’ it to you.”

“Oh yeah? What've you got then?” Tony challenged, putting his suit jacket back on.

“Ducky.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow, as he carefully put the box and bottle in the red bag. .

“Why?”

“Because you've got a duck butt,” Bucky chortled, putting his leftovers in his backpack and the bottle of juice in a pocket on the side.

“I do not!” the brunette objected.

“Do too,” he taunted.

Tony's eyes rolled.

“C’mon, let's get you home.”

_“You're leaving already!”_

Bucky glanced over at the gap on the far end of the counter, noticing Wade standing there with his hands on his hips.  

“Yeah, sorry Wade. I'm not feelin’ too great, I just need to go home.”

“C’mere lovecake I need a hug before you go,” he said, holding his arms out.

“You're unbelievable.”

Wade wrapped Bucky up in a snug embrace, then dropped his hands, patting him lightly on the ass, twice.

“I'll miss this fine ass.”

“God, you're weird,” Bucky laughed, parting from the hug.

“You wouldn't have me any other way!”

Tony was already halfway to the door when Wade shouted out to him too.

“I'll miss you too honeybunny!” he called.

“I hope so! Was nice meeting you Wade!” Tony called back.

Bucky followed Tony out of the diner, propping his cap back on his head and pulling it down so that it fit snugly. Tony had his sunglasses back on, his hair blowing listlessly in the wind when he turned his head to look at Bucky. Which sort of caused Bucky's brain to malfunction for the fact that Tony looked _too damn_ sexy for his own good.

“You're staring Bucky.”

“Kinda’ can't help it,” he retorted.

“Hmm, at least you're honest with me.”

Bucky's mouth twitched.

“I can stop bein’ honest if you want.”

“Oh no, I like your honesty,” Tony drawled, leaning in to peck Bucky on the cheek again.

“Affectionate bastard.”

Tony grinned smugly.

“There's nobody else quite like me.”

“I hope not, otherwise that'd make it real boring. Let’s go so I can maybe catch the train that'll show up in forty five minutes, maybe. Can never trust schedules,” the brunette stated.

Starting their journey back the way they came, Tony took Bucky's hand in his again, tucking his other hand into his pocket. Bucky appeared to walk closer to Tony’s side than when they’d walked to the diner earlier, putting a stupid smile on Tony's face. Time seemed to slip away so quickly when they were in each other’s company, yet, both of them had come to enjoy it while it lasted. So much so, Tony was tempted to spend that extra forty five minutes with Bucky...only if he agreed to it.

“Do you want me to walk with you to the station?”

Bucky looked almost startled that Tony asked.

“You don't need to do that. I'll be fine, I need to call Sam about somethin’ so someone's there for me to talk to on my way home.”

“Well...my offer stands, if you change your mind,” Tony replied.

“Thanks, you're a real sweetheart, babe,” Bucky crooned.

“Aw so it's babe now huh?” he said, holding Bucky's hand tighter.

The brunette smiled widely.

“I can call you whatever you feel comfortable with.”

Tony smirked.

“In that case, you better call me Casanova because I'm planning on seducing you.”

Bucky let out something between a laugh and yell of surprise when Tony took his other hand and spun him around, dipping him back slightly.

“Didn't you already seduce me last Friday night?” he snarked.

“Touché, by the way-” Tony paused, lifting Bucky back upright. “...do you know how to tango?” he questioned.

“Of course I do, I didn't just learn fast paced dancing in high school,” the brunette said.

Tony elicited a soft hum, as they commenced walking up the street.

“I'm keeping that noted.”

Bucky brushed his thumb over Tony's knuckles.

“I bet you know how to lead well.”

“Maybe you'll get to find out,” he uttered, lifting Bucky's hand to kiss the top of it.

“You seriously are the biggest fuckin’ charmer I've met in my life.”

Tony's eyes met with Bucky's.

“And you're the sweetest person I've ever met. Handsome too.”

“You're gonna’ give me a toothache by bein’ a sap,” he joked.

When Stark Tower came into view, Bucky felt an overwhelming sadness wash over him, the smile on his face faltering, vaguely. He would have taken Tony up on his offer, however, he always had a voice in his head telling him not to become a burden on people. That was the last thing he wanted to happen.

“Guess this is where we part ways.”

Tony turned to face him, with an equal amount of sadness about having to part ways with Bucky. He stepped forward, swooping in to steal a kiss from the brunette, his hands clutching the hem of Bucky's shirt. Bucky's reflexes kicked in to catch his cap before it fell off his head, his other hand finding its place on Tony's jaw. From all the people he'd kissed, nobody kissed as good as Tony, making Bucky want to spend an entire day kissing him for hours.

“I'm making us show a lot of public displays of affection. I'm sorry,” Tony apologised.

“A great woman named Natasha once told me that _‘public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable’_ , ‘cause some jerk was complainin’ about her and Clint lovin’ it up while we were on an escalator doin’ Christmas shopping last year.”

“And that stuck with you?” he asked.

“Hell yes, I don't give a shit. Not like I'm rippin’ you out of your suit or anythin’,” Bucky groused.

Tony's eyes narrowed as he played with a tassel on Bucky's jacket.

“As much as I'd love that...this suit was expensive.”

“But not expensive enough to burn a hole in your wallet,” the brunette chided.

“Oh, are you being smart with me? Don't play games with me, Binky.”

Bucky whined.

“C’mon, don't call me that.”

“You'll learn to love it,” Tony reasoned.

“Can I veto this?”

“What are we, back in Ancient Rome?” he sassed.

“I'll have you know, Mr Stark, I got an A on my essay about Ancient Rome in twelfth grade,” Bucky grumbled, with a wag of his finger at Tony.

“Hm, intelligence is the new sexy.”

The brunette dropped his head down against Tony's chest.

“Y’know we've been standin’ here for at least fifteen minutes. I think I'm gonna’ miss the first train.”

“Shit. I shouldn't keep you waiting,” Tony sighed. “I had a great time getting to know you Bucky. And I'm glad you trusted me enough to share your story,” he added, giving Bucky a quick, chaste kiss goodbye.

“I didn't even get to ask you about yourself…”

Tony caressed Bucky's cheek tenderly.

“Next time, I promise.”

“I'm countin’ on it,” Bucky murmured, looping his cap around one of the straps on his backpack.

“Call me or text me anytime.”

Bucky smiled, trying his best to hide the sadness behind it.

“I will.”

Letting go of Tony's hand was hard enough for him, the emptiness never too far away to present itself and leave a hollow feeling in Bucky's chest. Tony watched him leave, the hand he held Bucky's with falling weightlessly at his side. He'd never anticipated to get attached to someone so quickly, but Bucky was special, too special to not laugh at least once more before he disappeared from Tony's view.

“This could be a cheesy movie scene y’know!” Tony shouted to him, hearing the strained laugh in return from Bucky.

 _Tell him, or you might regret not saying it_ a voice in his head told him.

“I'll miss you!”

Bucky froze in his tracks, peering back over his shoulder at Tony. He spun around abruptly, walking at a quick pace as Tony moved towards him too.

“I'll miss you too.”

Throwing his arms around Tony's neck, Bucky immediately closed the distance between them, kissing Tony hard on the mouth. And definitely not falling short with string Tony's lips to further amp it up. Tony snaked his arms around Tony's waist, drawing him closer until their chests touched, angling his head to sweeten the kiss more. Bucky could stay there for hours, days even, he knew he could have more of this for an extra hour by the time the next train arrived at the station. So he pulled away from the kiss to catch his breath, running his fingers through Tony's hair, eyes still closed because it seemed to heighten every other one of his senses.

“I can dig some cheesy things…” he panted out. “Can I take you up on that offer of comin’ to the station with me?” he continued, finally opening his eyes to gaze at Tony's.

Tony held out his hand for Bucky to take.

“Thought you'd never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> Part two will be coming very shortly!


End file.
